Serena Williams Hobbles Out of French Open [Video]

Serena Williams pulls out of the French Open on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, due to a left Achilles’ tendon injury. Williams 3 time French Open Champion made the announcement shortly before her second-round match against Tsvetana Pironkova.

Slipping to #8 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) ranking leaves second-ranked Simona Halep of Romania as the heavy favorite by most sportsbooks.

Original Injury

She originally suffered the injury during her semifinal loss to Victoria Azarenka at the U.S. Open earlier this month and withdrew from the Italian Open shortly after.

Struggling to walk, the 3 times champ had to take a serious look at her condition and asked herself, “will I be able to get through enough matches?” Most people could not.

What is an Achilles Tendon?

The Achilles tendon is a strong fibrous cord that connects the muscles in the back of your calf to your heel bone. If an Achilles tendon is overstretched, it can rupture.

Williams stated, “my Achilles didn’t have enough time to properly heal after the [U.S.] Open. Foot and Ankle experts state that for a completely torn Achilles tendon, surgery is recommended to fix the tendon.

Williams believes that it will require two weeks of rest and four to six weeks of recovery. More than likely she will not play another tournament this year.

Record-Breaking

She already has 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most by anyone in the professional era. Margaret Court’s all-era mark will be tied by Williams with one more Grand Slam singles title.

Written by Omari Jahi
Edited by Cathy Milne-Ware

Sources:

ESPN: Serena Williams withdraws from French Open with Achilles injury; D’Arcy Maine

Big News Network: Odds against Serena Williams at French Open; Field Level Media

Essentially Sports: Serena Williams to Slip in WTA Rankings After US Open 2020 Defeat; BHAVISHYA MITTAL

Featured Image Courtesy of Peter Figura’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License

Inset Image Courtesy of Injurymap’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License