Venus Williams will not participate in the women’s doubles competition at Roland-Garros.
Williams and Baptiste Out of Doubles
The Associated Press reported that Williams and her playing partner Hailey Baptiste withdrew on Thursday. Organisers gave no reason for the withdrawal.
Notably, Baptiste retired during her second-round singles match against Wang Xiyu. She landed awkwardly on her left leg.
An Illustrious Career
Williams will turn 46 next month. She is a tennis icon despite no longer being at the peak of her career.
Her resume includes 49 singles titles and 22 doubles titles. She reached the No. 1 ranking in both disciplines. She also became the oldest woman to compete in an Australian Open singles main draw earlier this year.
Williams is a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion. Five of those titles came at Wimbledon and two at the U.S. Open. She reached the final of the Australian Open twice and Roland-Garros once.
- The Roland-Garros final appearance was in 2002.
- She lost to her sister Serena with the title on the line.
- The Williams sisters won the doubles competition at Roland-Garros twice together, in 1999 and 2010.
Recent Form and Replacement
Despite her illustrious list of accomplishments, Venus Williams is 0-7 in singles matches this year. She last played at the Madrid Open.
Eudice Chong and Veronika Rejvec replaced Williams and Baptiste in the women’s doubles draw after they withdrew from the tournament.