Roland-Garros: Serena Williams withdraws

Thunderclap this Wednesday morning at Roland Garros.

A real one, worse than that caused by a fighter plane which made the Parisian sky vibrate by crossing the sound barrier.

A few hours before her second round against the Bulgarian Tsvetlana Pironkova at the Central Philippe-Chatrier, Serena Williams announced that she was obliged to withdraw from the rest of the tournament.

The fault is still persistent pain in the Achilles tendon.

Pain felt as soon as he entered the competition against his compatriot Kristie Ahn despite his speedy victory after a sluggish start (7-6, 6-0).

"It is my Achilles tendon which did not have time to heal after the US Open (

), explained the younger of the Williams sisters at a press conference.

After my warm-up I talked to my trainer, I said:

We both thought about it.

We realized that maybe it wasn't that good for me to play today.

"

Serena Williams has withdrawn from #RolandGarros with an achilles injury.

pic.twitter.com/u6vGa9JCkX

- Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) September 30, 2020

The most Parisian of Americans, who owns an apartment in the French capital, has therefore favored caution.

" I tried.

As you know, when I'm on the courts, I'm 100%, sometimes more, confides the one who celebrated her 39 years on September 26.

I give everything.

But the Achilles heel is really serious, you have to be very careful.

If it gets worse, it is one of the most serious injuries.

I think it takes me 4-6 weeks to do nothing, rest, and at least 2 weeks to really sit still.

I don't know if I will be able to play another tournament this year.

It gives me plenty of time to fully recover to be ready for the future.

"

Three victories in Paris

It is therefore constrained by a physique more and more worn by the years on the circuit that the world n ° 9 sees her quest for a 24th Grand Slam title, after which she has been racing since 2017 - and which would allow her to equal Margaret Court's all-time record - elude her once again.

However, the one who won three times on the clay of the Porte d'Auteuil (2002, 2013 and 2015) has not given up this record or come back to Paris next season.

“I love competition, tennis is my passion.

Tennis is my job.

I'm still very good you know.

Sometimes I'm really close to my goals.

This is what drives me to move forward.

"