Serena Williams was supposed to play doubles this week with her sister, Venus Williams, at Wimbledon. However, the right knee injury she sustained in the first set against Maya Joint before the first-round loss eventually forced her out of the tournament.
Williams first tried to recover before announcing her decision on Saturday that she would not be able to compete in the doubles draw. She and Venus were scheduled to face Solana Sierra and Camila Osorio in what would have been the sisters’ first doubles match together since the 2022 US Open.
After the announcement, Williams’ husband and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian dropped a major hint about the 23-time Grand Slam champion’s future in tennis with a post on X:
“Cheering section will return!”
He attached a photo, involving him and his daughter, captured while cheering for Williams. The post indicates that despite the injury at Wimbledon, Williams could continue her tennis career in upcoming WTA tournaments.
Serena Williams Left Heartbroken About Wimbledon Withdrawal
Serena Williams and Wimbledon have a storied history. The American tennis star has won seven singles titles and six doubles titles at the All England Club. All of her 14 Grand Slam doubles titles have come with Venus Williams and the sisters were hoping to return together this week.
When Williams suffered the injury earlier this week, she was committed to her recovery to make her doubles match. The organizers also shifted their match, giving the 23-time Grand Slam champion additional time to recover.
However, despite extensive treatment, her knee was not healthy enough for competition. In her withdrawal announcement, she wrote (on Instagram):
“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,” the 44-year-old said on Instagram. 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 showed photos and videos showing a brace on her right knee and revealed she had undergone fluid drainage in an effort to recover before the match.
It remains to be seen when we next see the iconic Williams sisters in the tournaments to come.
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