Former world No.1 Maria Sharapova has said that she is ‘disappointed’ that Serena Williams has been forced to withdraw from their French Open clash due to injury.
On Monday afternoon the 36-year-old called a press conference at Roland Garros in which she confirmed her retirement from the tournament. Elevating Sharapova into her first grand slam quarter-final since the 2016 Australian Open. Williams is currently struggling with a pectoral injury that is affecting how she serves. An issue she first picked up during her third round clash against Julia Goerges.
“I unfortunately have been having some issues with my pec muscle, and has unfortunately been getting worse to the point where right now I can’t actually serve.” Said Williams.
“I’m going to get an MRI tomorrow. I’m going to stay here and see some of the doctors here, see as many specialists as I can. And I won’t know that until I get those results.” She added.
The eagerly awaited meeting between the two players was set to take place amid an argument concerning Sharapova’s memoir, Unstoppable. On Saturday Williams questioned the legitimacy of the comments made about her in the book. Labelling them all as ‘hearsay.’
There is yet to be any direct response for Sharapova about Williams’ remarks. Upon hearing about the withdrawal, the Russian issued a statement wishing the 23-time grand slam champion a ‘speedy recovery.’
‘I was looking forward to my match against Serena today and am disappointed that she had to withdraw,’ the Russian said.
‘I wish her a speedy recovery and hope she returns to the tour soon.’
It is unclear as to how severe Williams’ injury is. The French Open was only her third tournament since returning to the tour after giving birth. It was also the first time she has played back-to-back competitive matches on the clay since 2016. During the unfamiliarity of the problem, Williams admits that she is ‘clueless’ about what to do next.
“I have never had this before.” She explained.
“Sadly, when you do have an injury that you have had before, you can kind of manage it. I have pretty much had every injury in the book. But this is a little different, and, yeah, I’m clueless as to what to do. I’m just going to do what the doctor thinks I should.”
As a result of Williams’ woes, Sharapova will take on either Garbine Muguruza or Lesia Tsurenko in the French Open quarter-finals. It is already her best performance at Roland Garros since winning the title back in 2014.
