LONDON: Serena Williams’ Wimbledon comeback is over after the American legend pulled out of the doubles due to a knee injury on Saturday.
Williams and her sister Venus were due to play in the first round on Saturday, but Serena announced just hours before the match that her knee had not healed enough to play.
“I’m heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles,” the 44-year-old said on Instagram.
Serena, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, suffered the injury during her defeat against Australia’s Maya Joint in the first round of the Wimbledon singles on Tuesday.
That was her first singles match since the 2022 US Open after four years in retirement.
The sisters, who won the Wimbledon doubles six times, were scheduled to face Solana Sierra and Camila Osorio after being given a wild card entry into the event.
But no court was specified by tournament organisers in the order of play, raising the possibility that seven-time Wimbledon singles winner Serena could withdraw.
To the disappointment of her legion of fans, Serena did just that, revealing the fluid on her injured knee made it impossible to continue her sensational return to Wimbledon.
“Coming back to compete again has been a gift, and the opportunity to play alongside Venus once more meant the world to me,” she said.
“I did everything I could to be ready, but unfortunately my knee just isn’t ready to compete.
“The photo of the syringes shows the fluid they drained from my knee after my singles match…yikes!”
Serena made an astonishing return to tennis at Queen’s Club last month, where she played in the doubles with Canadian Victoria Mboko.
But an injury to Mboko curtailed Williams’ run in the Wimbledon warm-up event after the pair won their first match.
‘Stay tuned’
Serena then crashed out in the first round of the Berlin doubles with Karolina Muchova before accepting Wimbledon’s offer of a wild card into the singles last week.
Serena had been motivated by a desire to play in front of her two young daughters Olympia and Adira, but they saw their mother feature in just one match at Wimbledon.
Serena competed gamely in her three-set defeat against Joint — a player 24 years younger than the American — on a packed Centre Court.
She did not fulfil her scheduled post-match press conference and her agent later said that was due to the knee injury, setting off speculation she would have to quit the doubles.
Williams posted footage of her limping in a heavy bandage, as well as some syringes full of fluid, as she confirmed her withdrawal.
“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,” she said.
“I’m especially grateful to tournament director, Jamie Baker, and the entire tournament team for giving me every opportunity to play here.”
Now questions will be asked about her ability to recover in time for the US Open later this year, while it is far from certain how much longer Serena’s comeback tour will last.
Hinting she is not finished yet, Williams said: “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…”
