Hurt Achilles forces Serena to withdraw

Serena, who got hurt during the semi-final loss at the US Open three weeks back, said that she is struggling to walk. “I haven’t had enough time to properly heal. It needs four to six weeks of sitting, doing nothing,” said Serena.

The announcement came roughly an hour before the 39-year-old American was supposed to head out onto Court Philippe Chatrier to face Tsvetana Pironkova. Serena stated that she is unlikely to play another tournament this year.

After speaking to coach Patrick Mouratoglou on whether to take the field, Serena said: “We both thought about it and decided it wasn’t the best for me to try and play.” This is Serena’s earliest exit at a Grand Slam event since a second-round loss in Paris in 2014.

Last month in New York, Serena made it to the semi-finals before bowing out 6-1, 3-6, 3-6 against Victoria Azarenka. In the third set of that match, the American stretched her Achilles during a point and asked for a trainer. She took a medical timeout for a tape job and continued to play but was unable to pull off a win.

Meanwhile, third seed Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) recovered from a mid-match meltdown to defeat Mexican qualifier Renata Zarazua 6-3, 0-6, 6-2 and advance to the third round of the French Open.

In the men’s singles competition, third seed Dominic Thiem of Austria cruised into the third round with a routine 6-1, 6-3, 7-6(6) win over American Jack Sock.