Grass swing over: Victoria Mboko ruled out of Wimbledon after sustaining knee injury at Queen's

Disaster has struck for Victoria Mboko. From smiling on court with Serena Williams to suffering a nasty knee injury at Queen's Club Championships, it has been quite the rollercoaster. This has ended on a really painful note with the Canadian forced to pull out of Wimbledon with the extent of the injury enough to see her gras swing conclude for another year.

Mboko was hopeful of making an impact on grass this year and came to Queen's as the third seed and one of the favourites to clinch the title. Already with two WTA titles to her name, the 19-year-old is yet to taste glory this year. That includes losing in the WTA 1000 final in Qatar, one of three WTA finals lost this year.

She has continued her fine form from when she broke onto the scene at the Canadian Open, winning the title before striding into the top 10. If not careful, she could come plummeting out with those 1000 points on the line.

For the time being, she was enjoying her start to the grass swing, the counterpart to Williams in her highly anticipated comeback to the sport. The 23-time Grand Slam champion was back to playing after not stepping onto the court since the 2022 US Open where she announced her retirement. Four years on, and the whole tennis world watched expectantly. They would not be disappointed.

Williams and Mboko defeated the third seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe 7-6(2), 6-2 in a very commendable showing with Williams showing her class with power and reflexes suited for doubles. Mboko supported her along the way and together they would blast into the quarter-finals. This match would never occur.

Mboko was back competing the next day in the last-16 of the singles event. Being in the top four, she got a bye to this stage where former world number one Karolina Pliskova was waiting. The Czech is a handy player on grass, and not a nice opponent to face off right from the bat.

Mboko struggled at first, falling down to a 6-2 deficit as the 2021 Wimbledon runner-up blasted ahead in fine fashion. However, Mboko found her feet in the second set and seemed to be gaining some momentum.

This was all halted in concerning fashion. She fell to the ground in awkward fashion, damaging her left knee in the process. She struggled to put pressure on it and was forced to trudge off the court, handing Pliskova the win.

She was extremely emotional, and for good reason. Her Queen's campaign was over, with later confirmation about the doubles. To rub salt into the wound, Mboko will miss the chance to return to SW19, this time as a bona fide contender. She made her debut at Wimbledon last year where she was a lucky loser. Making it to the second round, her run was halted against Hailey Baptiste.

There will not be a chance to improve on that result. The official Wimbledon entry list was updated with Darja Vidmanova entering the main draw in Mboko's place. Williams was quick to share wish her well. "You're an incredible talent and you'll be back out there in no time," Williams on social media. "Wishing you a speedy recovery."