Serena Williams will not be taking the court at Wimbledon for doubles play after a knee injury forced her to step away from the tournament, ending what was meant to be a memorable reunion with sister Venus on the grass courts of the All England Club.
In a heartfelt post shared on Instagram, the 44-year-old expressed her disappointment. “I’m heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles. Coming back to compete again has been a gift, and the opportunity to play alongside @venuswilliams once more meant the world to me,” she wrote. “I did everything I could but unfortunately my knee just isn’t ready to compete.”
The withdrawal comes just days after Serena’s highly anticipated return to Grand Slam tennis — her first in four years — came to a disappointing end. She fell to Australian up-and-comer Maya Joint on Tuesday by a score of 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3 in the first round of singles play.
Following that loss, Serena revealed she had “tweaked” her right knee toward the end of the opening set but had hoped to push through and compete in doubles.
The Williams sisters had received a wildcard entry into the doubles draw and were scheduled to face Solana Sierra and Camila Osorio in their opening match. The pair have a storied history at Wimbledon, having claimed six doubles titles together at the prestigious tournament.
Serena also took a moment to thank tournament director Jamie Baker and the rest of the staff. “I’m especially grateful to tournament director, Jamie Baker, and the entire tournament team for giving me every opportunity to recover,” she said.
She closed her message with a tease for her supporters: “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…”
This is not the first time injury has disrupted Serena’s recent comeback efforts. Last month, she teamed up with Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko at a WTA event at Queen’s Club, but that partnership was cut short when Mboko suffered a knee injury of her own during singles play. Serena then joined forces with Czech player Karolina Muchova at the Berlin Open, though the two were eliminated in their very first match.
