Breaking News
Serena Williams is officially OUT of the French Open … the tennis legend withdrew from the tournament Wednesday, saying she has an Achilles injury that’s hurting like hell.
“Struggling to walk,” Serena said of the injury. “So that’s kind of a tell-tale sign that I should try to recover.”
The 39-year-old hurt her lower leg at the U.S. Open in New York earlier this month … and thought she had given it enough time to heal to be effective in Paris.
But, Williams said during her opening-round victory over Kristie Ahn on Monday, she felt the tendon aching — and decided to pull out of the event.
“I had to focus on walking straight so I wasn’t limping,” Serena said. “And, I tried.”
The good news … Serena says she doesn’t think the injury will be a long-term thing — she told reporters she believes 4-to-6 weeks of rest and recovery should do the trick.
“I feel like my body is actually doing really, really well, and I just ran into, for lack of a better word, bad timing and bad luck, really, in New York,” Williams said.
“It happened, but my body is actually doing really, really well.”
FYI — the next major event on the tennis calendar is months away … with the Australian Open set to begin on Jan. 18.