Serena Williams called an early halt to her season to avoid the risk of a career-threatening injury, her coach says.
The 34-year-old withdrew from the China Open and WTA Finals after her bid for a calendar-year grand slam was ended by Roberta Vinci at the US Open in September.
And Patrick Mouratoglou says the condition of Williams' damaged knee meant there was a real possibility of a stress fracture had she seen out the season.
"The cartilage is not gone, not all of it, but a big part," the Frenchman said. "She has bone bruises and, if you keep on playing with this for too long, the next step is a stress fracture.
"At her age, her career could really be in danger if she went too far and got more injured like Rafa Nadal did in the past.
"He kept on playing with the same problem and then it got worse and he had to stop for almost a year. We don't want this to happen. She is 34. If she has to stop for a year, then it is really bad for her."
No comments:
Post a Comment