July 05, (THEWILL) — Serena Williams has withdrawn from the women’s doubles competition at Wimbledon after failing to recover from the right knee injury she suffered during her singles comeback earlier in the tournament.
The 44-year-old had been due to reunite with her sister, Venus Williams, in one of the most anticipated doubles pairings of the championships, but confirmed on Saturday that her knee was not fit enough for competition.
Serena revealed that doctors drained fluid from her injured knee following her first-round singles match and shared images showing the treatment, along with a video of herself wearing heavy strapping on her right leg.
Tournament organisers had postponed the Williams sisters’ opening-round doubles clash against Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra to allow Serena more time to recover, but the injury ultimately forced her withdrawal.
The former world No. 1 marked her return to Grand Slam singles action earlier this week but was eliminated in the first round after a three-set defeat to Maya Joint.
Despite the setback, Serena hinted that her return to competitive tennis is not over, suggesting fans could see her back on court again soon.
Venus had already competed in the mixed doubles event alongside Kevin Krawietz, with the pair losing in straight sets to Tereza Mihalikova and Lloyd Glasspool.
The Williams sisters are among the greatest doubles teams in tennis history, having won six Wimbledon women’s doubles titles together.
