Venus Williams and Hailey Baptiste Withdraw from French Open Doubles Event

Venus Williams and Hailey Baptiste have announced their withdrawal from the women's doubles bracket at the French Open, a decision made public by organizers on Thursday without an explanation provided.

The withdrawal came shortly after Baptiste was forced to exit her singles match against Wang Xiyu due to an injury sustained when she awkwardly landed on her left leg during the first set.

Replacing the American duo in the tournament lineup are Eudice Chong and Veronika Rejvec. Williams, renowned for her decorated career including seven major singles titles and a past No. 1 ranking, had recently returned to the spotlight as a singles wild-card entry at the Australian Open.

Williams reached the French Open singles finals in 2002, losing to her sister Serena, and the pair had previously secured French Open doubles titles in 1999 and 2010.

(With inputs from agencies.)