Former world number one Serena Williams pulled out of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Friday because of a back injury.
Williams was scheduled to play her quarterfinal match against Alize Cornet this afternoon.
The injury to her back was sustained during practice, but she did not decide to withdraw until shortly before the match was due to start.
“It just happened all of a sudden in practice,” said Williams. “I just went for a shot and then my back got a little stuck, so that’s basically how it happened.”
Although it forced her out of this week’s Tier I event in Rome, Serena does not believe that the injury will affect her plans for Roland Garros.
“I don’t expect this to cause any problems with my preparation for the French,” Serena added. “It just happened all of a sudden. I feel like I’m going to be good going into Roland Garros.”
