Serena Williams has delivered a stunning heartbreak to the tennis world as the returning legend has officially pulled out of Wimbledon and will not be playing her doubles match, which was scheduled for Saturday. Williams penned an emotional note, citing her knee injury as the absolute roadblock that has now ultimately forced her to pull the plug on her Wimbledon run.
Serena Williams played Maya Joint in her first Wimbledon appearance in four years but lost to the rising Australian star in the first round in a grueling three-set match on Tuesday. It is here that the returning legend suffered a knee injury mid-match.
Now, days after Wimbledon rescheduled her doubles match, Williams released a statement, officially calling off her SW19 run this year, and detailed her suffering with a graphic medical update on her injury that has let the world in on her agony.
“I’m heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles. Coming back to compete again has been a gift, and the opportunity to play alongside @Venuseswilliams once more meant the world to me.”
She continued:
“I did everything I could, but unfortunately, my knee just isn’t ready to compete. The photo of the syringes is the fluid they drained from my knee after my singles match – yikes! 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.”
Williams also tipped her hat to the tournament’s organizers but also fired a warning shot to her competitors, saying that she will be back soon:
“I’m especially grateful to tournament director Jamie Baker and the entire tournament team for giving me every opportunity to recover. All I can say is stay tuned to a city near you.”
Williams has also shared a video of her walking with a compression bandage on her injured leg and shared snaps of her private therapy room, where a medical professional can be seen operating on her injury.
After reporting her knee injury on Tuesday, Williams did not appear for her post-match press conference, which was excused by Wimbledon. The committee had also rescheduled her doubles match from Friday to Saturday.
Serena Williams Made Her Long-Awaited Comeback with a Doubles Match
Serena Williams made her long-awaited return this year at the Queen’s Club tournament on 9 June with a doubles match. Williams teamed up with the 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko, and the pair defeated the duo of Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez in the thrilling opening round, but their run came to an end when Mboko had to retire from the tournament after suffering an injury.
Williams’ next stint was also a doubles match at the Berlin Open, teaming up this time with Czech star Karolína Muchová, but the pair lost in the opening round.
With her latest withdrawal, it remains to be seen how soon Williams will make a competitive comeback, though her message has made it clear that she is far from done.
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