Serena Williams forced to bring Wimbledon comeback to premature end: ‘I’m heartbroken’

A “heartbroken” Serena Williams has been forced to bring her Wimbledon comeback to a premature end after the 44-year-old was forced to withdraw from her first-round doubles match with sister Venus Williams due to a knee injury.

The 23-time grand slam champion “tweaked” her right knee during her first singles match in four years on Tuesday night,Serena Williams forced to bring Wimbledonputting her involvement in the doubles in major doubt after a thrilling three-set defeat to Maya Joint under the roof on Centre Court.

Williams posted a series of photos on Instagram showing her right leg wrapped in bandages and revealing the fluid that had to be drained from her knee following her first singles match since the 2022 US Open. Williams also appeared to be receiving treatment to her left leg in the photos she published.

Williams suggested that her comeback will continue, though, with a further return to the North American hard-court season and August’s US Open in New York now likely. “All I can say is stay tuned to a city near you…” Williams said.

With a combined age of 90, the Williams sisters, who have won six Wimbledon doubles titles, were scheduled to play the the unseeded South American duo Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra at some point on Saturday.

The first round of the women’s doubles was scheduled to be completed by Friday at the latest, but Wimbledon tournament director Jamie Baker allowed Williams, a seven-time champion in singles, additional time to recover.

But Serena has now confirmed that she will be unable to compete. “I’m heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles,” Williams posted on Instagram. “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.”

“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…

“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.”

Williams felt her knee at the towards the end of the first set of her Centre Court return but played on in a valiant effort, saving match point to force a deciding set before the 20-year-old Joint prevailed, winning 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 in two hours and 22 minutes.

“It was really great to be back at Wimbledon,” Williams had said in a statement issued by the All England Club. “I never expected to be here. The atmosphere was amazing. Walking out was amazing. I definitely relished it and missed it and enjoyed the moment more than anything.”

Williams, who before returning to tennis appeared to wave goodbye to the sport at the 2022 US Open, made her comeback in doubles in June at Queen’s in London. She played one doubles match with Victoria Mboko, before playing another alongside Karolina Muchova in Berlin.

Venus, 46, meanwhile managed to play a mixed doubles match with the German doubles specialist Kevin Krawietz. But they lost 6-4 6-4 to Lloyd Glasspool and Tereza Mihalíkova on Friday.