Serena Williams’ hopes of competing in the Wimbledon women’s doubles event have taken a massive hit after she picked up a knee injury during her singles return.
Williams, 44, was beaten by Australia’s Maya
Joint in a gripping three-set first-round contest on Centre Court on Tuesday night. The match marked her first singles appearance in four years after making a surprise return to professional tennis.
The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, who retired in 2022, came back to competition in June by playing doubles events at Queen’s Club and Berlin. She is scheduled to partner her sister, Venus Williams, in the opening round of the women’s doubles against Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra.
There were no obvious signs of injury during Serena’s defeat to Joint. However, she did not appear for her mandatory post-match press conference, instead releasing a brief statement through Wimbledon officials.
Although players can face fines for missing their media commitments, it emerged on Wednesday that Williams had been excused because of a knee issue.
Her agent, Jill Smoller, said in a statement: “Serena tweaked her right knee at the end of the first set and was therefore excused from her media obligations by the Wimbledon and WTA medical teams.
“She left site that night unaided and is doing everything she can to be ready for her doubles match later this week.”
Serena and Venus, 46, received a wildcard into this year’s doubles draw. The legendary sisters have won six Wimbledon doubles titles together, with their most recent triumph coming in 2016.
While Serena has not claimed a Grand Slam singles title since winning the Australian Open in 2017, Venus’ last major singles crown came at Wimbledon in 2008.
Ahead of her return, Serena explained that one of the biggest reasons for making a comeback was the chance to compete in front of her two young daughters.
They were in the Centre Court players’ box on Tuesday, watching alongside Serena’s husband, Alexis Ohanian, and Venus as the former world No. 1’s singles comeback ended in a hard-fought defeat to Joint.
