Serena Williams Withdraws From Wimbledon Doubles After Knee Injury, Ending Highly Anticipated Reunion With Venus

Serena Williams

Serena Williams Withdraws From Wimbledon Doubles After Knee Injury, Ending Highly Anticipated Reunion With Venus

Serena Williams’ highly anticipated doubles reunion with sister Venus Williams at Wimbledon is no longer happening.

Serena announced she is withdrawing from the tournament due to a knee injury.

“I’m heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles,” Serena wrote on Instagram. “Coming back to compete again has been a gift, and the opportunity to play alongside @venuswilliams once more meant the world to me. I did everything I could, but unfortunately my knee just isn’t ready to compete.”

The 23-time Grand Slam champion thanked tournament director Jamie Baker and the Wimbledon team for giving her every opportunity to recover. She also expressed gratitude to fans for their support, while hinting that her comeback isn’t over just yet, writing, “All I can say is stay tuned to a city near you…”

Serena also shared photos documenting her recovery, including images of her knee receiving treatment and syringes filled with fluid drained after her singles match. “The photo of the syringes is the fluid they drained from my knee after my singles match—yikes!” she explained. “The good news is that my knee shouldn’t swell or collect that much fluid again. The bad news is that, as hard as I tried, I wasn’t able to be ready for doubles.”

The announcement comes after excitement had been building around Serena and Venus reuniting on the doubles court, with the sisters scheduled to face Czech duo Linda Nosková and Markéta Vondroušová. Instead, fans will have to wait a little longer to see whether another Williams sisters reunion is in the cards.