Serena Williams Withdraws From Wimbledon Doubles After Knee Injury
Serena Williams Withdraws From Wimbledon Doubles After Knee Injury
Serena Williams has pulled out of the Wimbledon doubles tournament, canceling a planned reunion with her sister Venus on a Grand Slam court for the first time since 2022. The 44-year-old announced her withdrawal on Instagram on July 4, 2026, after injuring her knee during her singles match earlier in the tournament.
The injury happened late in the first set of Serena's opening-round singles match against 20-year-old Australian player Maya Joint, according to Reuters. Serena lost the match in three sets. She skipped her post-match interview — Wimbledon officials said she was "not able to undertake" it — and her agent, Jill Smoller, confirmed the knee problem in a statement on Wednesday, per ESPN. The formal withdrawal came on Friday.
"I'm heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles," Serena wrote on Instagram. She thanked tournament director Jamie Baker for giving her chances to compete, then added: "All I can say is stay tuned to a city near you." The teaser left her future plans unclear.
Serena and Venus had earned spots in the draw through a wild card — a discretionary invitation — announced by the All England Club on June 16. They were set to face Colombian Camila Osorio and Argentine Solana Sierra. Their Wimbledon doubles record carries weight: the sisters have won the title six times together, and Serena alone has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles across her career.
The immediate explanation is straightforward enough: a player in her mid-forties sustained a knee injury mid-match, lost a three-set singles contest, and accumulated enough physical damage to make further play in the same two-week tournament unsafe. That sequence is medically routine.
But the broader context matters. Serena's wild-card return at 44, her first Slam doubles appearance with Venus in four years, and a singles match against an opponent less than half her age — all of this was already uncommon before the injury struck. Her cryptic Instagram sign-off keeps the question of her tennis future open. She did not specify whether she means an exhibition tour, another competitive tournament entry, or something else. The BBC's coverage was still developing as of July 4, with the story ending on "More to follow."
What is certain is that a physical injury, not a choice about retirement or rest, ended her time at this Grand Slam. Venus's next move — whether she seeks a replacement doubles partner or withdraws herself — had not been announced at the time of reporting.
