Wimbledon likely next for Serena
Injury forces withdrawal from French Open match
After an extended maternity leave, new mom Serena Williams is experiencing the one step forward, two steps back aspect to mounting a comeback.
At the French Open on Monday, the 36-year-old was abruptly forced to unlace her sneakers because of a chest muscle injury that prevented her from stepping on court. Ranked 451st in the world, Williams was on tap to renew her rivalry with Maria Sharapova for the first time since their 2016 Australian Open quarterfinal.
Instead of showing up for that fourth-round outing with the hopes of improving her 19-2 record against the Russian, Williams arrived at a news conference to explain that a painful pectoral muscle strain would prevent her from continuing her French Open quest this year.
“It’s very difficult because I love playing Maria,” Williams told the media in Paris. “It’s just a match I always get up for. It’s just her game matches so
well against mine.”
Williams won’t win her 24th Grand Slam tournament title, which would tie Margaret Court’s record for most Grand Slam singles titles won, at the French Open this weekend.
But with proper treatment, and barring any further issue, the injury should likely heal in time for Wimbledon, which begins July 2.
Bill Norris, who is known as a pioneer in sports physiotherapy and worked at the ATP for 35 years before setting up a private practice in Boca Raton, Fla., offered encouragement that Williams could recover quickly.
“It’s a common injury, and sometimes in an awkward moment an athlete will stretch out too fast and that’s how you get those strains,” said Norris, who authored the book Pain, Set and Match about his years with the ATP and as a guide to common tennis injuries. “With Serena’s work ethic, she works very hard, I can’t see that this will be a big problem.
“But not knowing the situation, and not being there and testing the muscle where she is feeling pain, I don’t really know for sure.
“The fact is that she’s being smart about it. Taking some time off in getting ready for Wimbledon is probably a wise decision,” Norris added.
Norris said that a pectoral injury typically is not caused by a lack of play and often occurs when balls get really heavy, especially when the weather is damp and rainy. Common treatment is ice to reduce the swelling of the tissue, then a switch to some heat and electrical stimulation.
Thinking back to his years treating players, Norris recalled Andre Agassi having a pec injury and healing very quickly, but he also made note that three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten struggled with the injury because he “wouldn’t let it rest enough to give it time to heal.”
“I remember one time we had a similar situation with Agassi at the World Team Cup in Dusseldorf in the early 2000s,” Norris said. “That muscle usually takes a week to 10 days to heal dependent upon the severity of the injury and time to get it ready. He fooled me. He went home for three days and came back to Paris and was ready for Paris. You know, champions of that level, they can really fool you with the time factor.”
Patrick Mouratoglou, Williams’ coach, said during a Tennis Channel interview that not playing against Sharapova was imperative if Williams wanted to bolster her chances of being ready for Wimbledon.
“I feel there’s no way she can play (today),” Mouratoglou said. “But I also feel an extra match would’ve really made it worse and then put her in danger for Wimbledon. I feel like she stopped at exactly the right point.”
The disappointment of having to withdraw was magnified for Williams because the French Open was an integral element to her comeback from maternity leave — daughter Alexis Olympia was born in September. It was also her first major since she won her 23rd Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open, where she played being eight weeks pregnant.
This year, Williams played four official matches for a 2-2 record before arriving at the French Open. The good and bad news was she was showing excellent form in winning her first three matches in Paris before the injury. She said she started to feel the problem, which prevented her from serving effec- tively, during her third-round win over 11th-seeded Julia Goerges.
Despite her untimely exit from the French Open, Williams insisted she was leaving with a positive frame of mind and hope for the future.
“I’m beyond disappointed,” the former world No. 1 said. “You know, I gave up so much, from time with my daughter to time with my family. I put everything on the court, all for this moment.
“So it’s really difficult to be in this situation, but I always, for now in my life, I just always try to think positive and just think of the bigger picture and, hopefully, the next events and the rest of the year.”
It is no secret that most important on her list of future achievements is winning two more Grand Slams to become the only player in history with 25 singles trophies from the majors.
Mouratoglou is convinced that everything she displayed while preparing for the French Open indicates she has winning on her mind.
“To be completely honest, a few months ago I was doubting it (her motivation),” Mouratoglou said on Tennis Channel. “Now I don’t doubt it at all, that her motivation level is at the maximum I have seen.”