Serena withdraws from French Open with Achilles injury

No. 6 seed Serena Williams was forced to pull out of the French Open ahead of her second-round match against Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova on Wednesday because of an Achilles injury, reported Xinhua.

"I really wanted to give an effort here. It's my Achilles that didn't have enough to properly heal after the Open. I was able to get it somewhat better, but just looking long-term in this tournament, will I be able to get through enough matches? For me, I don't think I could," said the three-time Roland Garros winner.

"(I'm) struggling to walk so that's a tell-tale sign that I should try to recover," she added.

Williams injured her Achilles tendon during her semifinal loss to Victoria Azarenka at the US Open earlier this month.

The 39-year-old tennis great, who is seeking a record-tie 24th Grand Slam title, skipped all the tune-up tournaments for the clay majors and practised at the Mouratoglou Academy, but acknowledged she was "not one hundred percent" as the French Open started.

Pironkova, 33, who has just returned to the Tour after three years' absence at the US Open and made an impressive run to the quarterfinals, receiving a walkover to the third round in Paris.