Serena Williams has withdrawn from the women's doubles draw at Wimbledon, where she was scheduled to play alongside her sister Venus. The seven-time singles champion sustained a knee injury during her first-round singles match on Tuesday night, a three-set defeat to Maya Joint on Centre Court.
Injury Details and Withdrawal
The 44-year-old American revealed on Instagram that she is "heartbroken" to pull out of the doubles competition. She shared graphic images of syringes containing fluid drained from her knee, writing: "The photo of the syringes shows the fluid they drained from my knee after my singles match...yikes! The good news is my knee shouldn't swell or collect that much fluid again. The bad news is that, as hard as I tried, I just wasn't able to get it ready for doubles."
Venus Williams, 46, will still compete at SW19 in the mixed doubles alongside Kevin Krawietz. The sisters' place in the women's doubles draw will be taken by a lucky loser team.
Serena's Statement
In her Instagram post, Serena wrote: "I'm heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles. Coming back to compete again has been a gift, and the opportunity to play alongside Venus once more meant the world to me. I did everything I could to be ready, but unfortunately my knee just isn't ready to compete."
She added: "I'm especially grateful to tournament director, Jamie Baker, and the entire tournament team for giving me every opportunity to play here. Thank you to the fans for your incredible support and for making this comeback so meaningful...All I can say is stay tuned to a city near you."
Earlier Optimism
Earlier in the week, Serena had expressed hope of playing doubles. She posted on social media: "It felt so good to be back. I'm incredibly thankful for the wildcard - and even more grateful my daughters got to see that it's never too late to chase something you love."
She continued: "I tweaked my knee late in the first set, but I'll be doing everything I can to be ready for doubles. Congratulations to Maya on a great match, and thank you to everyone who showed up and showed me so much love. That feeling will never get old."
Her agent, Jill Smoller, confirmed: "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."
