Three-time French Open champion, Serena Williams has withdrawn from the 2020 event because of an Achilles injury.
Williams, 39, came into the tournament nursing an Achilles injury she picked up during her semi-final defeat at the US Open earlier this month.
She was scheduled to play her second-round match against Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova on Wednesday, and was aiming to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 before she pulled out from the event.
Williams said in a statement: “After I warmed up – it was a very short warm-up – I talked to my coach and I was like, ‘What do you think?’ We both thought about it and we really realised that it likely wasn’t the best for me to play today.
“I love playing in Paris, I really wanted to give an effort here. My Achilles didn’t have time to properly heal. I’m struggling to walk so that’s kind of a tell-tale sign that I should try to recover.”
