Wimbledon Ladies' champion Serena Williams has confirmed she will be taking some time off competing in the sport, whilst her persistent injuries heal and she can recover gradually to mount a serious challenge for the US Open - which is scheduled to start on the final day of August.
Williams, who is the current holder of all four major Grand Slam titles at the moment, is hoping to complete a major milestone in America later this year. The Serena Slam, as it's being called, has been the hot topic of debate for plenty of critics to discuss, and Serena herself will be hoping to be fully fit going into the tournament.
Her victory at Roland Garros reiterated just how good she is - being able to overcome illness and still manage to pull through after a tough few encounters which included the likes of Victoria Azarenka, Sloane Stephens and Sara Errani on the pathway to victory past Lucie Safarova.
Williams had this to say, according to Let's Talk Tennis: "In my warm-up this morning unfortunately my elbow started hurting. I don't want to make it worse."
Before the tournament in France had even began, she was evidently struggling with an elbow injury - so her decision to take time off is a smart one considering the possibility that she may will aggravate her persistent problem otherwise.
On her public Facebook feed, she posted the following: "As much fun as we have been having the past eight or so weeks I have to take some time to let my elbow heal. I am confident it will be ready for the rest of the summer. I need some time to recover and rehab it, but as of now I am being forced to take the next week off."
Then, she elaborated on her comments afterwards: "I'm going to take some time off, I'm going to get some treatment, and I'm going to continue to do things for it. I'll do what's best for my body and continue from there."
She described it as a 'really difficult decision and uncomfortable' but she 'had to make the hard decision' in the end.