Serena Williams' first tournament since coming out of retirement has ended prematurely after her partner Victoria Mboko was forced to withdraw from the Queen's Club tournament. Mboko injured her knee after slipping on the grass during her singles match on Wednesday.
Williams made a sensational return to competition at age 44 after a four-year absence on Tuesday alongside Mboko. The pair defeated the third seeds Nicole Melichar Martinez and Erin Routliffe 7-6(2), 6-2. They were scheduled to face Leylah Fernandez and Laura Siegemund on Thursday afternoon.
Mboko's Injury
Mboko, the third seed at Queen's Club, played her opening singles match a day later after receiving a first-round bye. She had earned a break point in the second set after losing the first set against former world number one Karolina Pliskova. However, during the match, she suffered an extremely bad fall, slipping on the grass after being wrong-footed. She immediately held her left knee and was forced to retire.
The courts at Queen's Club are known for being some of the highest quality grass surfaces on the tour, but their slick nature makes them particularly slippery in the first days of the tournament. In past editions, men's players have also fallen and injured themselves in similar ways, losing their footing after being wrong-footed on the grass.
What's Next for Williams
Williams will next head to Berlin, where she has received a doubles wildcard. She is also expected to be among the doubles wildcard entries at Wimbledon when they are announced next week.
However, the immediate future of Mboko, one of the best young players on the tour, is far more uncertain as she navigates the uncertainty of injury.
