Breaking News: Serena Williams pulls out of French Open
Serena Williams has pulled out of her fourth-round match at the French Open against Maria Sharapova because of a pectoral muscle injury that won’t allow her to serve, she announced Monday, reports ESPN.
“I’m beyond disappointed,” Williams said. “I gave up so much, from time with my daughter to time with my family. I put everything on the court. … So it’s really difficult to be in this situation.”
Williams, who said said she started feeling the issue during her last match, will get an MRI on Tuesday.
Tennis fans are bound to be disappointed, given Williams was set to face off against Maria Sharapova today.
The two players were coming back from time away—Williams after having a baby daughter; Sharapova after a doping ban.
It was to be their 22nd head-to-head meeting. Williams has won 19 so far, including the past 18.
Serena Williams has also been in the spotlight due to a journalists sexist line of questioning.
Bill Simons of Inside Tennis magazine is now backtracking his sexist comments after social media flood him with comments in Williams’ defense.
But Serena Williams, like the unbothered powerhouse she is, shrugged off the suggestion and shut the reporter’s ridiculous questions down.
Simons said: “After the 2004 Wimbledon match with Maria, I had the opportunity to interview Donald Trump on his [Los Angeles] golf course, and he said that Maria’s shoulders were incredibly alluring.
“And then he came up with this extraordinary analysis: That you were intimidated by her supermodel good looks. My question is: Have you ever been intimidated by anyone on a tennis court, and what are your thoughts about the occurrence?”
Williams replied: “I honestly don’t have any thoughts about that. I can’t say I have been intimidated by anyone. That’s all. That’s it.”
Then he said, “Work with me here, please. We’re in this together, baby.”
The sports journalist has since apologized after his condescending “baby” comment and asking if she was intimated by Sharapova because of her “alluring” shoulders after fans protested.
“I apologize if my awkward ques seemed 2 empower Trump or attack Serena/ I SO admire her/ I’ve spent [my] lifetime fighting racism/ sexism/ homophobia,” Simons wrote.
“Started campaign to name US Open Stad 4 Ashe/ Lobbied long 2 get Serena 2 return to I. Wells/ Called out police violence vs Blake/ I’m so sorry (sic.)”
What the reporter should have been focused on is the fact that Serena Williams is back with a vengeance.
The superstar athlete scored her first major win since giving birth to her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian, Jr. in September at the 2018 French Open and she looked damn good while doing it.
She beat Kristyna Pliskova 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 in the tournament’s first round and she did it while wearing a killer black bodysuit that showed off her shape and peak fitness level less than a year after giving birth and bouncing back from a c-section as well as the life-threatening pulmonary embolism and subsequent hematoma she suffered having her daughter. The athlete was bed-ridden for six weeks and still managed to come back to the game a winner.
“All the moms out there who had a tough pregnancy and had to come back and try to be fierce in the middle of everything. I think that’s what this represents. It’s exciting. I think the catsuit is—you can’t beat a catsuit, right?,” she said during a post-match interview with The Tennis Channel.
