23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams has been forced to withdraw from Wimbledon’s doubles tournament due to a knee injury, it was announced on Saturday.
Williams and her sister Venus were scheduled to face Camila Osorio (Colombia) and Solana Sierra (Argentina) in the first round.
advertisement
Williams suffered a knee injury in her first-round singles loss to Maya Joynt, which jeopardized her doubles match with her sister Venus.
“I am heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles,” Williams wrote in an Instagram message. “Being back competing again was a gift and the opportunity to play again with Venus meant the world to me. I did everything I could to get ready, but unfortunately my knee is not ready for competition yet.
A special thank you to Tournament Director Jamie Baker and the entire tournament team for giving me every opportunity to play here. Thank you to our fans for the incredible support and making this comeback so meaningful… All I can say is stay tuned to a city near you…
The syringe photo shows the fluid drained from the knee by the syringe after a singles match…hooray! The good news is that my knee won’t swell again or collect as much fluid. The bad news is that even though I tried hard, I couldn’t get myself ready for doubles. ”
The doubles match was thought to be scheduled for Thursday, but when Wimbledon released its schedule for the day, it did not include a match between the Williams sisters, who together won six doubles titles at the All England Club. The same thing happened on Friday.
As questions swirl about Serena’s availability, tournament director Jamie Baker confirmed that Wimbledon is trying to give the legend enough time to recover so she can take to the court with her sister, according to the Telegraph.
advertisement
Samantha Murray Sharan and Lanrana Talardi will replace the Williams sisters in the tournament.
Williams’ return to Wimbledon has been highly anticipated since she announced her return to tennis in June. Williams, 44, competed in both the HSBC Championship and the Berlin Open in the lead-up to Wimbledon.
Her singles match with Joint drew 1.8 million views on ESPN, making it the network’s biggest viewership on the second day of Wimbledon.
