Serena Williams withdrew from the French Open Wednesday ahead of her second round match with an Achilles injury, as the American's bid for a 24th Grand Slam title suffered another blow.
The 39-year old Williams, a three-time winner at Roland Garros, had arrived in Paris carrying an Achilles injury that prompted her to skip the Rome tune-up event.
The injury likely means she will miss the rest of 2020 leaving the Australian Open in 2021 as her next chance to equal Margaret Court's all-time majors record.
Her decision to pull out handed Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova a walkover and left Williams searching for a first major since the last of her 23 titles at Melbourne in 2017.