Serena Williams has been forced to withdraw from the Swedish Open after reportedly suffering a right elbow injury.
Williams, fresh from winning the 2015 Wimbledon over Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, complained of pain on her elbow after her match with Belgian Yasline Bonaventure. Despite the nagging pain, Williams went on to win the match (6-2, 6-1).
"I was having some pain in my elbow, and I felt a little bit in my match," says Williams in an interview. "But this morning it really exploded (in practice) ... I really couldn't hit serves."
Williams was all set to face Klara Koukalova in the second round before the injury became unbearable. With Williams withdrawal, Koukalova got a free ride to the quarterfinals via walkover.
There is no word on the extent of Williams’ injury though many are hoping that it isn’t serious. Williams is one US Open title away to complete a rare Calendar Slam, the first since Steffi Graff did the trick back in 1988.
"When I was warming up in the morning I hurt my elbow as I had major problems with it previously. The doctors said it was best that I did not make it worse. I had the same problem at Roland Garros and Wimbledon" Williams added about her elbow,
Pressure could mount on the world’s no. 1 player considering the U.S. Open is set to kick off on August 31, 2015. This means that Williams will have close to a month to rest and heal up though the latest setback could prove to be costly as far as preparations are concerned.
The Swedish Open would have been the perfect tune-up tournament to prep Williams for the penultimate gem on the Calendar Slam but as it turns out, all that now depends on the extent of her injury which hopefully will be minor.
For now, Williams’ main concern is to address the injury and get better. Though the feat of achieving a Calendar Slam seems to be in jeopardy, Williams as well as her fans will just have to keep tabs on the real score behind the right elbow pain she recently suffered.
"The main thing is that we don't want [the injury] to get worse, we obviously want it to heal" Williams explains.
This could also mean that Williams may be foregoing other stints before the US Open. These include originally set matches in California, Canada and Ohio. Hopefully, the time off will allow her to heal in time for the US Open.
Aside from Wimbledon, Williams has already copped the Australian and French Open this year, and a US Open conquest will allow her to achieve the rare Calendar Slam.