Serena Williams will not take the court alongside her sister Venus this weekend after withdrawing from their scheduled doubles match at Wimbledon due to a knee injury sustained in her singles return.
Williams twisted her knee during the first set of her opening-round singles match against Maya Joit on Monday, losing 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3. She had spent the following five days attempting to recover in time for Saturday's first-round doubles clash against Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra, but the injury proved too severe.
In a social media post announcing her withdrawal, Williams described herself as heartbroken over the decision. She revealed that medical staff had drained fluid from her knee following her singles match and shared images of four syringes filled with yellow liquid. While doctors assured her the knee should not swell again to that degree, she ultimately could not meet the physical demands of competitive doubles play.
"I did everything I could but unfortunately my knee just isn't ready to compete," Williams wrote, thanking tournament director Jamie Baker and the Wimbledon team for their efforts to help her recover.
This reunion marked the first time the Williams sisters would have competed in doubles since the 2022 US Open and their first appearance together at Wimbledon since winning the title in 2016. The pair had won the grass court championship six times as a team and claimed 14 Grand Slam doubles titles combined.
At 46 and 44 years old respectively, Venus and Serena had not played a competitive match together in nearly two years. Serena had not competed at professional level since retiring at the 2022 US Open. She returned to action only four years later, first appearing in doubles at Queens Club and Berlin before opting to attempt singles at Wimbledon.
The tournament had held its final wildcard spot for Williams, granting her entry just a day before the deadline. Her body, unprepared for the intensity of top-tier singles tennis after such an extended absence, struggled with the physical toll.
Wimbledon had accommodated the sisters' return with unusual flexibility, leaving their doubles match as the only women's first-round contest still outstanding by Friday. The match had been scheduled for no earlier than 4:30pm on Saturday without a confirmed time slot. Britain's Samantha Murray Sharan and Thailand's Lanlana Tararudee have replaced them in the draw.
Williams' departure from Centre Court on Monday, marked by an emotional farewell to the crowd, may represent her final appearance at the All England Club.
Author James Rodriguez: "The Williams sisters chasing lightning in a bottle one last time was worth the risk, but bodies don't negotiate with nostalgia."
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