Former World No.1 Venus Williams lost her opening round match at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, and the American took some time to reflect on her disappointing loss.
Williams, who was making a comeback from an injury layoff, fell to Elina Svitolina. The Ukrainian recorded a 6-4 6-3 victory over the 43-year old, with the final point of the match marred by some controversy.
Williams disapproves of controversial line call by umpire
The match ended on a corrected line call by the umpire, to which Williams gave a disapproving nod. The five-time champion accepted the call and shook Svitolina's hand at the net, but did not acknowledge the umpire.
"I’m not sure how I managed to smile in this moment but I don’t remember my face looking like this…pleasant…I felt just the opposite," admitted the American. "I felt like everything slipped away from me so quickly and I was disappointed that I wasn’t stronger to pull out the match despite the circumstances.
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Venus Williams walked out to so much applause from the Wimbledon crowd
43 years old & still ready to give this sport her all.
This crowd knows exactly how special it is to witness this legend play at Wimbledon another time. 🥹❤️