Serena Williams pulls out of Roland Garros due to Achilles injury

Serena Williams on Wednesday withdrew from the Roland Garros owing to an Achilles injury. The three-time champion Serena was schedule to take on Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova in the second-round of French Open but opted out of the Grand Slam due to Achilles injury.

Serena, who has won 23 Grand Slam titles, was looking to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 but pulled out of the tournament as she said she would need four to six weeks to recover properly. Serena added that she has been struggling to walk. 

"I think I need four to six weeks of sitting and doing nothing," Williams told a news conference.

"I have been struggling to walk so that's a telltale sign that I should try to recover. Achilles is an injury you don't want to play with - I think it was one of the worst, don't want to get to that point, I want it to get better."

Serena suffered the blow during her US Open semi-final defeat to Victoria Azarenka earlier in September. However, she carried on playing tennis and on Monday, defeated fellow American Kristie Ahn 7-6 (7-2) 6-0 in the first round of Roland Garros. But she said she was struggling physically. 

"In the second set I felt I needed to walk with a limp," Williams added. "I had to focus on walking straight so I wasn't limping. I tried and always give 100%, I take solace in that.

"I'm not sure I will play another tournament this year. It is not an acute injury, it is a nagging injury. I ran into bad timing and bad luck really."