Serena Williams injured her right knee during her singles return at Wimbledon on Tuesday, putting her scheduled doubles appearance with sister Venus in serious doubt. The 44-year-old lost her match 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3 to 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint and did not speak to the media afterward.
Wimbledon organizers said she was not able to fulfill her media duties following the match. Her agent, Jill Smoller, explained why. "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," Smoller said. "She left site that night unaided and is doing everything she can to be ready for her doubles match later this week."
Sources told BBC Sport that Williams picked up the injury before the final set and, despite receiving advice not to continue, kept playing. After the match, medical staff offered her crutches to help her walk, which she declined.
Williams and Venus are six-time doubles champions at the All England Club. The two were scheduled to play together on a Grand Slam court for the first time since 2022, with their doubles match set for Friday.
Tuesday marked Williams' first appearance at Wimbledon in 1,462 days. She played what she believed would be the final match of her career at the 2022 US Open but had declined to call it a retirement, saying instead that she was "evolving away" from tennis.
On Centre Court Tuesday, she showed flashes of her former level against Joint and pushed the match to three sets before losing. The knee swelled during the match, though she did not receive treatment on court and moved slowly between points during the deciding set.
Williams has not officially ruled out playing Friday, but the situation remains uncertain.
