ROME — Monica Seles pulled out of her second-round match at the Italian Open on Wednesday because of a lingering foot injury.
Seles was using this $1.3 million tournament as a key clay-court tuneup for the French Open, which starts May 26. She said she will still attempt to play in Paris.
Seles, seeded 10th, had lost the first set to Nadia Petrova 6-3 and was down 4-1 in the second against the Russian when she signaled on the changeover that she had had enough.
Seles missed several tournaments earlier this year because of her injured left foot.
On Tuesday, she rallied for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory against 46th-ranked Myriam Casanova and then pulled out of doubles because of her injury.
Facing Petrova, Seles lost her serve in the first game of the match and then again early in the second set. She did not attempt to run down several of Petrova’s shots.