Serena Williams French Open hopes in doubt after she pulls out of Italian Open with Achilles injury
Serena Williams’ French Open participation is in doubt after she pulled out from the Italian Open with an Achilles injury.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner admitted during the US Open that she was reconsidering her plans to play in Europe after Roland Garros officials denied her the option to use her usual Paris apartment during the competition.
All players must stay in two official hotels to maintain the bio bubble, and she was also worried about plans to allow 11,500 fans into the venue every day.
“I regretfully must withdraw from the Internazionali BNL d’Italia due to an Achilles strain,” Serena Williams said in a statement.
“I’m so humbled by the continuous support from my fans in Rome and I look forward to making my return soon.”
Williams required a medical timeout for the injury in her US Open semi-final defeat to Victoria Azarenka, saying at the time: “I just was stretching.
“I ran for a shot, and off that first step that I took, it was a long point.
“It wasn’t my ankle, it was actually my Achilles. It just overstretched. It was pretty intense. Then that was that.”
- Join the tennishead CLUB and receive £250/$350 of FREE GEAR including ASICS Gel-Resolution 8 trainers, shorts, shirt & socks
- Keep up to date with the breaking news & tennis action at our tennis news section
- Win amazing prizes by entering our competitions
- Learn more about your favourite players including Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic
- Check out the latest tennis equipment with our tennis gear reviews
- Receive regular updates in our legendary free newsletter
- Read in depth features with stunning photography in tennishead magazine
- Can’t visit the tournaments you love? Check out our guide on how to watch tennis on TV
- Don’t miss a thing with our Live Scores service
- Follow tennishead on social media at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube
- EXCLUSIVE 5% DISCOUNT for all tennishead readers on tennis rackets, balls, clothing, shoes & accessories with All Things Tennis, our dedicated tennis gear partner