PARIS — Venus Williams has announced her withdrawal from the women’s doubles event at the French Open, where she was set to partner with Hailey Baptiste.
The pair withdrew on Thursday, with organizers providing no explanation for their decision.
Baptiste faced an unfortunate setback during her second-round singles match against Wang Xiyu on Wednesday, having to retire after an awkward fall onto her left leg late in the first set.
As a result, Eudice Chong and Veronika Rejvec will take their place in the tournament draw.
Next month, Williams will celebrate her 46th birthday. She appeared at the Australian Open as a wild-card entry but was eliminated in the first round, making her the oldest female player to participate in the singles main draw there.
A seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, Williams has previously held the prestigious No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles.
Williams famously faced off against her younger sister, Serena, in the French Open singles final back in 2002 and enjoyed doubles victories at the tournament alongside Serena in 1999 and 2010.
