The much-anticipated Wimbledon doubles comeback of Serena and Venus Williams will not happen after the younger sister was ruled out with a knee injury serious enough to keep her from competing.
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“I’m heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles,” Serena wrote on Instagram, showing a video of herself barely able to walk, with her right leg heavily bandaged.
In addition to the clip, Serena posted disturbing photos of four full syringes filled with fluid that medical professionals had drained from her knee following her marathon singles match that she played as a wildcard. While the images underscored the severity of the injury, there was some encouraging news: with the excess fluid removed, her knee is not expected to swell or accumulate that much fluid again.
“All I can say is stay tuned to a city near you…” the 44-year-old wrote, leaving open the possibility of future appearances on tour or at exhibition events.
Serena’s withdrawal from Wimbledon doubles does not come as a surprise, as she injured her right knee late in the first set of her first-round singles loss to Maya Joint. In light of the injury, the tournament granted the Williams sisters an extra day before their opening-round doubles match against Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra.
While all other first-round women’s doubles matches had concluded by Friday, Serena and Venus were scheduled to play on Saturday in the hope that the additional recovery time would allow Serena to compete. Unfortunately, her knee did not improve enough for the legends to take the court.
The Williams sisters are one of the most successful doubles teams in tennis history, having captured 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together, including six Wimbledon crowns.
