Serena Williams has withdrawn from the French Open because of an Achilles injury.
She had been scheduled to play her second-round match against Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova on Wednesday.
She beat fellow American Kristie Ahn 7-6 (7-2) 6-0 in the first round but said she was struggling physically.
In a news conference Williams said, “I think I need four to six weeks of sitting and doing nothing.”
“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.”
Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles and was aiming to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24.
READ MORE: Azarenka stuns Serena Williams at US Open semi-finals
She picked up the Achilles problem during her US Open semi-final defeat by Victoria Azarenka earlier this month.
