Former World number one Serena Williams has been forced to pull out of the French Open just before her showdown with Maria Sharapova at the Philippe Chatrier Court in the fourth round.
Serena was playing in her first slam since the 2017 Australian Open which she won while still pregnant.
The reason for her withdrawal was a pectoral muscle injury.
She said “Unfortunately I’m having some issues with my pec muscle. Right now I can’t actually serve so it’s kind of hard to play,”
The Tennis star is hoping this doesn’t spell the end of her Wimbledon hopes and she also stated that she would have an MRI scan on Tuesday.
“It’s very difficult,” Williams added. “I love playing Maria. I’ve made every sacrifice I could. I made a commitment to myself and my team that if I wasn’t at least 60% I wouldn’t play. I’ve never felt this in my life. It’s so painful.
“I’m beyond disappointed. I gave up so much from time with my daughter & time with my family all for this moment. So it’s really difficult to be in this situation.”
Serena informed the press that she’d tried to play with her sister Venus in a doubles match in a bid to test the injury “I thought [doubles] was a perfect opportunity to see how I was going. I tried a lot of different tapings and support. It didn’t get a lot better.” she said
Sharapova will now play either Garbiñe Muguruza or Lesia Tsurenko in the quarter-finals.
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