PARIS — After a resurgent first week at the French Open, Serena Williams was stopped short on Monday — not by her would-be opponent, Maria Sharapova, but by an injury to her right pectoral muscle that forced her to withdraw shortly before their fourth-round match was set to begin.
“Right now I can’t actually serve,” said Williams, 36, as she announced her withdrawal in an overstuffed interview room at Roland Garros. “It’s kind of hard to play when I can’t physically serve.”
This is the latest setback in Williams’s comeback after giving birth to her daughter, Olympia, last September.