PARIS -- Venus Williams, who suffered only her second first-round loss at Roland Garros when she fell to Urszula Radwanska in more than three hours, said she is unable to crank up her serve because her back injury won’t allow her to. The seven-time Grand Slam champion averaged 95 M.P.H. with her first serves, well below her normal speed when she is healthy.
“I can’t really serve very hard. It’s painful when I do that,” the 32-year-old said. “But I’m getting better. I just ran out of time to get better for this tournament. My strategy was more or less to put the ball in, and that’s very difficult for me, too, because that’s not who I am. But that’s all I had…I want my serve back. I’m going to try to get it back for Wimbledon.”
Williams injured her back sometime in early April. She eventually pulled out of Madrid and then lost in the first round of Rome. She briefly considered pulling out of Roland Garros, but wanted to compete as she hoped to play her way into the tournament. She is getting daily treatment on a lower-back injury and doesn’t think she is putting herself at future risk by playing in Paris. She is still scheduled to play doubles with her sister Serena.
“As long as I serve soft, I don’t think I’ll get worse,” she said. “I think my opponents like the soft serve.”
Williams, who is also battling an autoimmune disease, reiterated that she has no plans to retire.
“I don’t think I’m just playing for me now. I think I’m playing for a lot of people who haven’t felt well. I think for me today it’s a positive to be able to play three hours. I’m constantly finding ways to get better and to feel better.”