Italian Open: Williams pulls out with shoulder injury

The Italian Open witnessed its second high-profile withdrawal as Serena Williams officially pulled out of the tournament with a shoulder injury.

The defending champion has been suffering minor pain throughout the tournament, before she ultimately decided that it was too uncomfortable to continue playing with it.

“I’ve been dealing with it since last week in Madrid,” said Williams as quoted from Eurosport.

“It was a difficult decision but I should be ready for Paris.”

Williams was set to play against compatriot Christina McHale after defeating Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets 6-1, 6-2 in the second round.

This news comes after Andy Murray officially withdrew as well, yesterday. The 27 year-old Brit was initially planning to skip the Italian Open, but a last-minute decision to join seems to have backfired with him suffering from fatigue.

Photo credits: sportsnet.ca

Other posts by Michelle Liew