Serena Williams has been forced to withdraw from her first-round Wimbledon doubles match with sister Venus Williams due to a knee injury. The 44-year-old, a seven-time champion at SW19, 'tweaked' her right knee during her first-round singles defeat to Maya Joint on Tuesday.
Withdrawal Announcement
Williams accepted a wildcard invitation from the All England Club to play her first professional singles match since the 2022 US Open, as well as doubles with her sister. She was given as much time as possible to recover, but has now confirmed she is not fit enough to play their first-round doubles match on Saturday evening. In a statement on Instagram, Williams said: '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 Williams 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.'
Photos of Injury
Alongside her statement, Williams shared photos of herself with heavy strapping on her right knee as well as syringes full of fluid which had been drained from her knee. 'The photo of the syringes shows the fluid they drained from my knee after my singles match…yikes!' she added. '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.'
Future Plans Unclear
While alluding to competing further in her Instagram post, Williams has not formally confirmed that she plans to play again after her one match at Wimbledon. Williams did not field questions from the media following her singles defeat to Joint and instead provided brief quotes via the All England Club. They read: 'It was really great to be back at Wimbledon. I never expected to be here. The atmosphere was amazing. Walking out was amazing. I definitely relished it and missed it and enjoyed the moment more than anything.'
Possible US Open Return
Following Wimbledon, the tennis calendar switches to the North American hard court swing, and all eyes could be on Williams to return at the US Open, which begins on August 30. Unlike her sister, Venus was not provided a wildcard into the women's singles competition. She did compete in the mixed doubles alongside Kevin Krawietz, but the pair lost in straight sets to Lloyd Glasspool and Tereza Mihalikova.
