Serena Williams: What Ankle Injury Means for French Open Hopes
After Serena Williams showed the world just how bad her ankle injury was, one has to wonder how it will affect her moving forward, as the French Open is just four months away.
In case you needed a frightful reminder of just how bad Williams' ankle injury looked, here's a shot of it, courtesy of Williams' Twitter account:
"Ouch mob.li/_nxDCj
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) January 24, 2013"
While there's no official timetable for how long Williams will be out, one has to figure it will be some time before she can take the court again. Judging from the way that ankle looks, she certainly has a problem on her hands.
Williams had a rough two weeks at the Australian Open, which culminated in a loss to fellow American Sloane Stephens.
Besides that disappointing finish, Williams battled an ankle injury and even tweaked her back, per the staff at the Daily Mail:
"'I've had a tough two weeks between the ankle ... and my back, which started hurting,' she said after the game. 'A lot of stuff.'"
Many of Williams' detractors had speculated that she was using those injuries as an excuse for a poor performance, but clearly after seeing that picture of her ankle, the complaints were legit.
In the meantime, Williams must rest up in order to heal her ailing ankle because she has bigger fish to fry in the coming months and there is still an entire year ahead of her.
What It Means for French Open
Again, there's no way of knowing just how bad Williams is hurt at the moment, but chances are the four months time she has to get ready for the tournament at Roland Garros should be sufficient.
The best-case scenario for Williams is that she heals up in the next month or so and can play in a few lesser tournaments before the French Open. In doing so, Williams will be better prepared and won't have to shake off any rust.
The worst-case scenario would be if Williams takes longer to heal and her return occurs right before or at the time of the start of the French Open. In that instance, Williams will have to shake off some rust while competing in a Grand Slam tournament against the best the world has to offer.
Despite the negative outlook of the second scenario, it would be far better than Williams missing the tournament altogether. That would no doubt be the worst-case scenario and would be a huge blow to the draw at the French Open.
