Seles withdraws from French Open

PARIS (AP) – Martina Navratilova will play at the French Open, a decade after her last Grand Slam singles match.

Navratilova, 47, received a wild card for the clay-court major she last won 20 years ago, tournament spokesman Christophe Proust said Thursday. Another past champion, Monica Seles, pulled out of the event, which would have been her first in a year.

Seles also asked for and was given a wild card but then decided she wasn’t fit, Proust said.

The nine-time major champion is recovering from a lingering left foot injury and hasn’t played a competitive match since losing in the first round at the 2003 French Open.

In an interview in February, Seles said she’s thought about retiring.

“It does go through my mind, because my brain wants to be out there, playing or practicing, but my body says, ‘Wait! Hold on!’ I have to listen to my body,” Seles said then. “I’m not 18 years old anymore. Not that 30 is old, but I started so young, and my body has taken a lot of pounding.”
The French Open starts May 24.