Serena Williams forfeited before playing her second round match at Roland Garros on Wednesday against Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova.
The fourth day of Roland Garros had just started an hour ago this Wednesday when news broke on the Grand Slam day’s program: Serena Williams forfeited her second round match against Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova.
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Disturbed by an Achilles heel injury, Serena Williams withdraws from #Roland Garros pic.twitter.com/xR2GVTK8rD
– Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) September 30, 2020
The reason was given a few moments later by the American, herself, during a press conference organized at the last moment. The seeded number 6 suffers from an Achilles heel injury. When she entered the competition in the first round, she had first struggled in the first set against her American compatriot, Kristie Ahn, before rolling out in the second round (7-6, 6-0).
Achilles tendon affected
“After the warm-up this morning I spoke to my coach and asked his opinion. We both thought about it and realized that maybe it wasn’t so good for me to play. today, “said the American at a press conference. “It’s my Achilles heel that’s not doing very well. I told myself that I couldn’t keep going 100%. I’m having trouble walking and that’s a warning sign”, a- she continued, indicating that she should observe 4-6 weeks of rest.
His quest for a 24th Grand Slam, an absolute record held by Margaret Court, therefore suffered further frustration. The American has failed to win a Major since 2017 at the Australian Open. Three weeks ago, she fell in the semi-finals of the US Open against Belarusian Victoria Azarenka (1-6, 6-3, 6-3).
