Serena Williams has announced that she withdrew from her Wimbledon doubles match with her sister Venus that was scheduled for Saturday in an emotional Instagram post.
The news comes less than a week after Williams tweaked her right knee during her first singles match at the tournament in four years, when she lost in three sets to Maya Joint (3-6, 7-6 (6), 3-6).
Williams took to her Instagram to share a sad message about her decision to withdraw and shared a series of photos that showed her knee heavily wrapped, as well as hospital photos of syringes of fluid that was drained from her knee.
“I’m heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles. Coming back to compete again has been a gift, and the opportunity to play alongside @venuswilliams once more meant the world to me,” Williams wrote in the caption. “I did everything I could to be ready, but unfortunately my knee just isn’t ready to compete.
“I’m especially grateful to tournament director, Jamie Baker, and the entire tournament team for giving me every opportunity to play here. Thank you to the fans for your incredible support and for making this comeback so meaningful…All I can say is stay tuned to a city near you…
“The photo of the syringes shows the fluid they drained from my knee after my singles match…yikes! The good news is my knee shouldn’t swell or collect that much fluid again. The bad news is that, as hard as I tried, I just wasn’t able to get it ready for doubles.”
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