Serena Williams defeats Petra Martic during U.S. Open despite ankle injury

By Ny Magee

·September 2, 2019

Serena Williams, of the United States, grabs her ankle after falling while chasing a return against Petra Martic, of Croatia, during round four of the US Open tennis championships Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Sarah Stier)

[griojw id=”Fx60Ejma” playerid=””]

Serena Williams became a 16-time U.S. Open quarterfinalist on Sunday, but her latest history-making career move didn’t come without a price.

The six-time tournament champion suffered an injury to her right ankle during the fifth game of the second set of her 6-3, 6-4 victory over Petra Martic at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York on Sunday. But Williams was not about to let yet another injury dim her light as she went on to earn her 99th U.S. Open victory, CNN reported.

Overcoming multiple injuries

Williams has braved through a series of injuries this past year. She rolled her left ankle during a quarter-final loss at the Australian Open in January. She then fell ill in Indian Wells in March, — followed by a knee injury and back spasms in Toronto last month that forced her to retire in the final against Bianca Andreescu. During an emotional moment for Williams, Andreescu walked over to her and knelt down and held her hands to comfort Williams as she wept.

With this latest injury, Williams said it’s too early to determine just how serious it is, according to Reuters.

“I usually know if it’s horrible early on. I mean, I had a really bad ankle sprain in January. I was like, instantly, ‘No, this can’t happen. I’m finally healthy,’” Williams said after the win over Martic.

“But I’ll see tomorrow. So far I’m good. I have been managing it. We’ll see tomorrow,” she added.

Williams coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, later told reporters that she was not experiencing too much discomfort.

“It doesn’t seem — there is the video, but what is more important is how she feels and how the ankle looks. The ankle looks okay,” he said. “She doesn’t feel much pain. She feels, but it’s acceptable. And we will know tomorrow when it’s going to be cold.”

Doting on her daughter

Williams’ recent ankle injury occurred as the tennis superstar celebrated her daughter’ Alexis’ second birthday. Two year ago to the day, she was recovering from an emergency caesarean section followed by blood clots and several complications that curbed her from tennis tournaments for six months.

Earlier on Sunday, Williams posted a photo on Instagram from after the birth to her daughter writing, “The last 2 years have been my greatest accomplishment.”