Knee problem ends comeback bid alongside sister Venus after days of confusion over scheduling.Serena Williams has withdrawn from the Wimbledon women’s doubles alongside her sister Venus, after being unable to recover from a knee injury sustained during her first-round singles defeat.
The 44-year-old had been due to compete in both singles and doubles at the tournament, marking her first appearance at Wimbledon in four years. However, her participation was thrown into doubt after she lost her first-round singles match to Maya Joint 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 on Centre Court, and then failed to appear at her scheduled post-match press conference.
The absence initially sparked a strong reaction online, with some interpreting it as a snub of the media. Williams’s agent later issued a statement clarifying that she had missed the press conference because of a knee injury sustained during the match.
Confusion over her participation deepened later in the week, when the Williams sisters did not appear on the order of play for what was the final day of first-round women’s doubles matches on Friday. In fact, tournament organisers at the All England Club had rescheduled the pair to the last slot on Saturday, in an effort to give Serena the maximum possible time to recover. But on Saturday afternoon, it was confirmed that both sisters would be withdrawing from the competition altogether.
Announcing the decision on Instagram, Serena 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 but unfortunately my knee just isn’t ready to compete.”
She also thanked tournament organisers for supporting her recovery efforts. “I’m especially grateful to tournament director, Jamie Baker, and the entire tournament team for giving me every opportunity to recover,” she wrote. “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…”
Williams also shared further detail about the extent of the injury, referencing a photograph of syringes used to drain fluid from her knee following the singles defeat. “The photo of the syringes is the fluid they drained from my knee after my singles match – yikes!” she wrote. “The good news is that my knee shouldn’t swell or collect that much fluid again. The bad news is that, as hard as I tried, I wasn’t able to be ready for doubles.”
The withdrawal brings a premature end to a grass-court comeback that has featured only three matches. Williams began the run at Queen’s, winning her first-round doubles match alongside Victoria Mboko, before the pair were forced to withdraw after the 19-year-old Canadian suffered an MCL knee injury. She then lost in Berlin partnering Karolina Muchova, before her singles defeat to Joint at Wimbledon.
With her return to top-level tennis cut short after just three matches, attention is now expected to turn to the US Open in August, which appears the likely target for Williams’s next appearance, barring a more serious injury setback than currently indicated.
