The Associated Press

Saying she is ''struggling to walk,'' Serena Williams ended her latest bid for a 24th Grand Slam title and withdrew from the French Open before her second-round match Wednesday because of an injured Achilles heel. Williams hurt herself during her semifinal loss at the U.S. Open three weeks ago, which she called ''bad timing'' and ''bad luck,'' and went to lengths to make clear she didn't think this was any sort of sign that she can't continue to pursue trophies in the future. The sudden announcement came roughly an hour before the 39-year-old American was supposed to head out onto Court Philippe Chatrier to face Tsvetana Pironkova.