Serena Williams Withdraws From Wimbledon Doubles With Venus
Serena Williams gave Wimbledon two extra days to save her comeback. It wasn't enough.
Williams, 44, withdrew from her doubles match with sister Venus on Saturday, ending a highly anticipated return to the tournament after her right knee failed to heal in time.
How the Injury Happened
Williams picked up the knee injury during her first-round singles match against 20-year-old Maya Joint of Australia on Tuesday, a three-set battle she ultimately lost 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3.
Her agent, Jill Smoller, said at the time that Williams had "tweaked her knee" but was doing everything possible to be ready for doubles later that week.
Wimbledon organizers pushed the Williams sisters' first-round doubles match against Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra back to Saturday specifically to give Serena extra recovery time.
It didn't come to fruition.
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Serena's Own Account
Williams announced the withdrawal in an Instagram post that included photos of her heavily wrapped knee and video of her walking with visible difficulty.
"I'm heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles," she wrote. "Coming back to compete again has been a gift, and the opportunity to play alongside Venus once more meant the world to me."
She shared images of syringes she said contained fluid drained from her knee after the singles match, joking "yikes!" about the volume, while noting the swelling itself was unlikely to recur.
"The bad news is that, as hard as I tried, I just wasn't able to get it ready for doubles," she wrote, adding a thank-you to tournament director Jamie Baker for giving her "every opportunity to play here."
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A Comeback Nearly Four Years in the Making
Williams returned to competitive tennis last month after nearly four years away, playing doubles with Victoria Mboko at the Queen's Club Championships and with Karolina Muchova at the Berlin Open.
She then entered Wimbledon in both the doubles draw with Venus and, after weeks of speculation, the singles draw as well.
Her singles return ended in the first round against Joint, but it was that same match that produced the injury now ending her doubles bid too.
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What This Means for the Williams Sisters' Record
Serena and Venus were chasing a seventh Wimbledon doubles title together and their combined 15th Grand Slam doubles title as a pair.
The sisters have won Wimbledon doubles six times together — in 2000, 2002, 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2016 — and this would have been their first doubles appearance together at the tournament since that 2016 title.
Samantha Murray Sharan and Lanlana Tararudee will replace the Williams sisters in the draw.
Williams hinted her tennis summer isn't necessarily over, closing her statement with: "All I can say is stay tuned to a city near you," a possible reference to the North American hardcourt swing ahead of the US Open in late August.
TL;DR
- Serena Williams, 44, withdrew from Wimbledon doubles with sister Venus after a knee injury.
- The injury occurred during her first-round singles loss to Maya Joint on Tuesday.
- Wimbledon delayed the sisters' doubles match to Saturday to give Serena extra time to recover.
- The withdrawal ends a bid for their seventh Wimbledon doubles title together.
- Williams hinted she may still play elsewhere before the US Open in late August.
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Marcus Webb writes about music, film, TV, and digital culture. He tracks the trends shaping entertainment and the creators driving them.
