After just 4 minutes and 7 points on Rod Laver Arena last night, Venus Williams was foreced to retires from her match against Andrea Petkovic due to injury.

The seven-times grand slam champion pulled up with what appeared to be a groin strain after lunging for a return with the German leading by a game and 30-0. She has strained a muscle in her lower body during her second round match against Czech Sandra Zahlavova on Wednesday. This was her first retirement in 251 Grand Slam matches.

"I just couldn't play. I mean, I just couldn't move. It was just too painful," Williams said in her post-match press conference. "The last 48 hours I did as much pain management and recovery that I could. I hit some balls at 6 o'clock just kind of standing still. A lot of times when you play, you get this adrenaline that blocks pain. But I just didn't get enough of that on the court today.


"It's super disappointing. This is not how I envisioned my Australian Open being. I've never had to retire from a Grand Slam, especially after working so hard to pull out the match like the other day. Just hoping for some magic I could recover. But I have peace of mind I gave more than my best to be out there."

Despite her retirement, Venus was optimistic.

"I'm still pretty good, even when I'm injured," Williams added. "At the Open, I came pretty close to winning that tournament just on a hope and a prayer, and little to no preparation. I'm going to focus on getting healthy and coming back. I love tennis. I've got a lot of great tennis in me. I love my job, so no end in sight."

Her retirement leaves a grand slam without an American woman in the last 16 for only the fourth time, the last time coming at the French Open in 2008.


(photo/Reuters Pictures)

Venus Williams withdraws from Australian Open because of injury