Serena Williams faces battle to get fit for Wimbledon

Serena Williams

Serena Williams admits her dream of an eighth Wimbledon title could either be saved or shattered in a Paris doctor's office this week. The American, 36, stunned the French Open on Monday by withdrawing from her eagerly-anticipated last-16 grudge match with bitter rival Maria Sharapova just minutes before the two icons of the women's game were due to clash on Court Philippe Chatrier.

A pectoral muscle injury had slammed the brakes on the ruthless Williams's serving arm so she decided not to take up the opportunity to extend her 14-year, 18-match win streak over the Russian.

"So I'm going to get an MRI. I'm going to stay here and see some of the doctors, see as many specialists as I can," said the 23-time Grand Slam title winner. "And I won't know that [her Wimbledon status] until I get those results."

In Paris, Williams was playing her first Grand Slam since winning the 2017 Australian Open when she was two months pregnant and first since she gave birth to daughter Olympia in September.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever