Following that highly anticipated return to
Wimbledon and singles action on Centre Court at Wimbledon, there is now huge doubt that
Serena Williams will make her return in the doubles alongside her sister, Venus, following a knee injury picked up that prevented her from completing her media duties.
The seven-time champion stepped out onto Centre Court to compete in Wimbledon for the first time since 2022. It was against Aussie talent Maya Joint who was struggling for form but was able to hold off the Williams challenge 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3.
Joint won the final three games of the first set before breaking at the start of the second. The signs were ominous for Williams who was trying to find a way back into the match. She would get the match back on serve following a flurry of breaks and won the tiebreak after Joint missed a match point.
The contest would come to a halt after a late charge from Joint. Despite Williams getting the break advantage in the third set, the 20-year-old blasted clear and dropped one more game for the rest of the match enroute to
winning the match.
Williams sisters double match in doubt following knee injury
There was a lot of commotion after the match following Williams' strange decision not to
partake in media duties. There were a lot of journalists who had prepared questions for the 23-time Grand Slam champion who were unable to have the chance to quiz her. The reason for that has now been unearthed.
An injury to her right knee has been unveiled as the reason. While there were no signs on court of the issue, this is something that she is currently dealing with and could be detrimental to her doubles campaign.
A statement from Williams' agent, Jill Smoller,
read: “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. She left site that night unaided and is doing everything she can to be ready for her doubles match later this week.”
There is hope that it is not too serious with the Williams sisters set to make their mark back on court together. They had won 14 Grand Slam titles together, and it would be a historic occasion if they were to get the chance to play with each other once more at Wimbledon. Time will tell if this occurs in the future.