Venus Williams pulled out with a muscle strain just minutes into her Australian Open third round match Friday, robbing the tournament of one of its biggest stars.
The seven-time Grand Slam winner screamed in pain and stopped playing while receiving at 0-1 down, after being broken in the first game. She limped to her chair and quickly conceded defeat after seeing a trainer.
Williams' first retirement in 251 Grand Slam matches comes after she had needed treatment to a psoas muscle, which runs from the abdomen to the groin, in her previous match.
"I obviously couldn't play. I mean, just couldn't move. Just too painful," she said.
The retirement marks a bleak day for US tennis, as it is the first time in the Open era that no American woman has reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam.
"It's super-disappointing because this is just not how I envisioned my Australian Open being," Williams told reporters.
"I've never had to retire from a Grand Slam especially after working so hard to pull out the match the other day. Just hoping for some magic that I could recover.
"But I have peace of mind that I really gave more than my best to be out there."
Petkovic was stunned at the retirement, which sends her into a fourth-round clash with Russian star Maria Sharapova.
"I am very surprised she retired," said the German. "I saw she got injured in her last game but she finished that match so I figured she was going to play tonight."
The retirement also continues a miserable run for Williams in Melbourne. While sister Serena is a five-time winner, the best Venus has managed is runner-up to Serena in 2003.
On a court that should suit her, the 30-year-old has often been bundled out by players ranked well below her.
In 2009 she lost to Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro in the second round and last year she was beaten by Li Na in the quarter-finals.
Petkovic, 23, has now reached the last 16 at a Grand Slam for the second time in succession. She was beaten at the same stage of the 2010 US Open by eventual runner-up Vera Zvonareva.
She had a good start to the year when she made the final of the Brisbane International, going down to Petra Kvitova.
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