WORLD No. 1, Serena Williams have pulled out of the Madrid Open with a thigh injury. Serena, 32, had played with heavy strapping on her left thigh throughout the week in Madrid, but aims to return at next week's Italian Open. The American will then defend her title at the French Open, which gets under way in Paris on 25 May.
"I suffered [the injury] during my first-round match," said Williams.
"I started to feel better but it is important that I have enough time to rest and recover. It's very frustrating. This isn't the way I wanted to end the week."
Williams had won the title in Madrid for the last two years, and in 2013 she went on be crowned champion in Rome and then claimed her second title at Roland Garros.
"I am planning to play in Rome," she added. "Fortunately, I have a [first-round] bye next week so will have an extra day of rest."
Maria Sharapova, seeded eighth, made it through to the semi-finals in Madrid with a fine 2-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 win over second seed Li Na.
The Russian will play Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska on Saturday after the third seed battled past France's Caroline Garcia 6-4 4-6 6-4.
Kvitova will next face fourth seed Simona Halep of Romania, who saw off Serbia's 11th seed Ana Ivanovic 6-2 6-2.
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