Serena Williams has withdrawn from her Wimbledon match
Serena Williams has pulled out of the women’s doubles draw at Wimbledon. The seven-time singles champion marked her Grand Slam comeback with a three-set defeat to Maya Joint on Centre Court on Tuesday night.
However, the 44-year-old sustained a knee injury during that singles match and is no longer able to take part in the doubles alongside her sister Venus. They will be replaced by a lucky loser, while Venus, 46, exited the mixed doubles alongside Kevin Krawietz yesterday.
Serena wrote on Instagram: “I’m heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles. Coming back to compete again has been a gift, and the opportunity to play alongside Venus once more meant the world to me. I did everything I could to be ready, but unfortunately my knee just isn’t ready to compete.
“I’m especially grateful to tournament director, Jamie Baker, and the entire tournament team for giving me every opportunity to play here. Thank you to the fans for your incredible support and for making this comeback so meaningful…All I can say is stay tuned to a city near you..
“The photo of the syringes shows the fluid they drained from my knee after my singles match…yikes! The good news is my knee shouldn’t swell or collect that much fluid again. The bad news is that, as hard as I tried, I just wasn’t able to get it ready for doubles.”
Earlier in the week, Serena had given an update confirming she was hopeful of taking to the court alongside her sister. Posting on social media, she wrote: “It felt so good to be back. I’m incredibly thankful for the wildcard – and even more grateful my daughters got to see that it’s never too late to chase something you love.
“I tweaked my knee late in the first set, but I’ll be doing everything I can to be ready for doubles.
“Congratulations to Maya on a great match, and thank you to everyone who showed up and showed me so much love. That feeling will never get old.”
Her agent Jill Smoller added: “Serena tweaked her right knee at the end of the first set and was therefore excused from her media obligations by the Wimbledon and WTA medical teams.
“She left site that night unaided and is doing everything she can to be ready for her doubles match later this week.”
