| | ESPN.com news services
PARIS -- A nagging left knee injury forced Serena Williams
to withdraw from the French Open just hours before Friday's draw.
Williams has not played since April 11, when she retired during
her second-round match at the Bausch & Lomb Championships in
Amelia Island, Fla. She resumed practice last week in hopes
of playing at Roland Garros but abandoned those plans Friday.
"I really thought I was going to be able to play. I never would
have come all the way to Europe if I hadn't believed I'd be able
to go on the court, and I am so disappointed," Williams said. "I
love Paris. I have been practicing the language, the French Open
is one of my favorite Grand Slams and I was looking forward to
playing at Roland Garros."
Williams, who was seeded eighth for the upcoming grand slam, is
15-5 this season and has one tournament win -- the Faber Grand
Prix. She plans to return to Florida on Friday and hopes to play at
Wimbledon next month.
"The trainers had done such a good job, and the treatments were
having such a good effect, I thought the knee would be ready,"
said Williams, currently eighth in the points standings. "But
the more I practiced, it just started to get worse again. This
problem just keeps coming back, so my doctors told me not to
play, just rest the knee, so I don't have to worry about a long-term injury."
Williams' withdrawal means that Austria's Barbara Schett will be
seeded for the tournament, which starts Monday.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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