World number one Serena Williams has withdrawn from the BNP Paribas Open from injury, shortly before her scheduled semi-final with Simona Halep.
The 33-year-old American was due to play the Romanian, seeded third in the world, but a knee injury sustained in training has ended her hopes of securing another title.
Instead, Williams took the court shortly after Jelena Jankovic defeated Sabine Lisicki 3-6 6-3 6-1 in the other semi-final, in order to address the crowd.
She said: "A couple days ago at practice I really injured my knee. Today I was struggling just to even walk."
Her premature exit from the competition, in which she stood as the considerable favourite, means Halep will advance to play number 18 seed Jankovic in the final on Sunday.
As Williams exited the court, the announcer confirmed the 19-time Grand Slam winner was withdrawing for the tournament, the first time she had entered since 2001.
Having won the title in 2001 as a 19-year-old, she was heavily booed after collecting the silverware, and refused to return since.
The youngster was due to meet her sister, Serena, in the semi-finals back in 2001. However, a knee injury saw Venus withdraw just 20 minutes beforehand, angering the crowd considerably. As she went on to clinch the title, fans booed her throughout the match and during the celebrations, shortly before she vowed to never return to the event.
There were later suggestions from her father, Richard, that racial taunts where heard from the crowd, while accusations also spread of the sisters’ deciding in advance who would emerge victorious.
Fourteen years later, Williams took to her Instagram account during the first semi-final to announce her withdrawal from the 2015 tournament, saying:
"4 months ago I began a journey to play Indian Wells and it was amazing. I never dreamed I could do it. But I would not have been able to do this without my fans. Though it ended early due to injury this year, I have to say I cannot wait to try again next year."
Serena Williams currently holds a singles record of 692 wins and 120 defeats.