Serena Williams’ doubles comeback at Wimbledon is in doubt after she sustained a knee injury during her first competitive singles match in four years.
The 44-year-old lost a thrilling encounter with 20-year-old Maya Joint 6-3 6-7 6-3 late on Tuesday night on Centre Court, putting up a valiant fight before fading in the third set.
The nearly two-and-a-half hour match, which ended at 10pm local time, brought an early end to a much-anticipated singles comeback at the grand slam where she won seven of her 23 major titles.
She did not take part in the obligatory post-match press conference and it later emerged that this was due to her picking up a knee issue during the match, which required lengthy treatment from the physio.
Williams is slated to return on Friday alongside older sister Venus, with whom she won 14 grand slam doubles titles including six at Wimbledon, most recently in 2016.
When is Serena Williams playing doubles at Wimbledon with Venus?
The Williams sisters last played doubles together at the 2022 US Open. Venus Williams, who is 46, plays sporadically but still sometimes accepts wildcards into grand slams.
Together, Serena and Venus have won six Wimbledon doubles titles, a record they share with Suzanne Lenglen and Elizabeth Ryan, and their last title came in 2016.
With a combined age of 90, the Williams sisters are yet to officially withdraw from the tournament, but are not currently scheduled to play their first-round doubles match on Friday 3 July, which is the second and last day of the opening round of the women’s doubles tournament.
The Williams sisters are drawn to play the unseeded South American pair Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra in the first round. Osorio, from Colombia, and Sierra, from Argentina, will be playing as a duo for the first time.
Friday’s order of play was confirmed on Thursday 2 July, with the Williams sisters not on it. It means that unless the pair make a late withdrawal, they are likely to instead play on Saturday 4 July, in a rare diversion from the usual Wimbledon schedule.
Venus has accepted a wildcard into the mixed doubles, however, and will play with the German doubles specialist Kevin Krawietz. It suggest that Venus, 46, is giving herself a fall-back option as she bids to make her own return to Wimbledon.
What has Serena Williams said about her knee injury?
“It felt so good to be back on the grass at Wimbledon,” Williams posted on Instagram. “I’m incredibly thankful for the wildcard – and even more grateful my daughters got to see that it’s never too late to chase something you love.
“I tweaked my knee late in the first set, but I’ll be doing everything I can to be ready for doubles with Venus.
“Congratulations to Maya Joint on a great match, and thank you to everyone who showed up and showed me so much love. That feeling will never get old.”
Serena Williams’ comeback so far
When asked during an appearance at the Berlin Open whether she would have been interested in the last remaining Wimbledon wildcard earlier this month, Williams sounded coy.
“Oh my gosh, there’s some left?” she asked. “Well I better get to practice! You think I’m ready for singles? I need to get to work.”
Williams made her long-awaited return to tennis for the first time since 2022 when she played doubles with Victoria Mboko at Queen’s in London.
The pair won their first-round match against third seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe, but injury for Mboko prevented a second.
The Canadian teenager slipped on the grass during her singles match the following day, suffering a left knee injury that forced her to withdraw from Wimbledon.
Williams then headed to Berlin and played a further doubles match with Karolina Muchova, but they lost to Giuliana Olmos and Routliffe in the first round.
With only two doubles matches under her belt, Williams stepped onto Center Court for her first singles match in four years, facing the 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint.
After a difficult first set for Williams, she showed brilliant fight in the second set to save match point and force a decider, but ran out of steam as the world No 87 won 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3.
Williams was excused from her post-match media obligations after it was revealed she “tweaked her knee”.
Williams was able to leave the grounds “unaided”, and is doing “everything she can to be ready” for her doubles match with Venus, her agent Jill Smoller said.
What did Serena Williams say ahead of her Wimbledon return?
“I thought it’s not every day Wimbledon holds a wild card for someone. I can name probably like a handful of people. I happened to be one of those people. I thought I should really take this opportunity. Who knows if I’ll ever make it here again. This could be it.
“I was like, What’s wrong with me, Serena? What are you thinking? Are you nuts? Like you really should do this. People live to be an athlete. I have this great opportunity to showcase what I do, what I do best. I was like that is pretty cool, so I should do it.
