Serena Williams' quest for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam has been extended a little longer. The French Open announced the 39-year-old has been forced out of this year's tournament due to an achilles injury.
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Williams pulled out with the injury before a last 64 clash with Tsvetana Pironkova on Wednesday, thereby handing the Bulgarian a walkover into the third round.
The achilles suffered damage in Serena's US Open semi-final loss to Victoria Azarenka, and Williams explained the knock had not had time to heal properly.
"I love playing in Paris, I actually adore the clay. It's fun for me. And I really wanted to give an effort here," the three-time champion at Roland Garros said in a press conference.
"So it's my achilles that didn't have enough time to properly heal after The [US] Open. I was able to get it somewhat better but just looking long term in this tournament will I be able to get through enough matches and for me I don't think I could.
"(I'm) struggling to walk so that's a tell-tale sign that I should try to recover."