Serena and Venus Williams are entered to play women's doubles at Wimbledon this year, which would mark the first time the sisters have played together at the All England Club since 2016. They won the title that year, their last major doubles title. They returned in 2022 for the US Open but were knocked out in the first round by Czech pair Linda Noskova and Lucie Hradecka.
Now, with Serena coming out of a four-year retirement earlier this year at Queen's Club, where she partnered Victoria Mboko, the sisters seemed set to take to the court once more. However, there is a snag in their plans: Serena suffered a knee injury in her first-round singles defeat to Australian Maya Joint in a three-set thriller on Centre Court.
Match Timing and Uncertainty
The Williams sisters are scheduled to face Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra, originally set for 4:30pm on a court to be announced. The first round of women's doubles typically occurs on Thursday and Friday of the first week, but the Williams sisters were absent from both days' order of play. They have emerged on Saturday's schedule, but a specific time is still to be arranged.
Tournament director Jamie Baker told reporters on Friday that the All England Club is doing everything possible to help Serena play. "We are giving her as much time [as possible], obviously," Baker said. "We want her to play if she, if she possibly can." He noted that the day guidelines for first-round matches are flexible, especially under exceptional circumstances like injuries or players competing in multiple events.
Serena's Recent Comeback
Serena had delayed accepting her singles wildcard, having not played a singles match since her comeback earlier this summer. She played at Queen's with Mboko and later partnered Karolina Muchova at the Berlin Open. She revealed ahead of Wimbledon that she decided to play singles on the Friday before the draw, the day of her wildcard deadline. This situation appears similar, with officials granting additional time for a decision.
