Serena Williams has confirmed that she will not play in the women’s doubles at Wimbledon after she suffered a knee injury.
The 44-year-old came out of retirement at Queen’s Club, playing doubles with Victoria Mboko, before she played in Berlin with Karolina Muchova.
She decided to try her hand once more at singles at the All England Club, accepting a last-minute wildcard to play in the competition that she has won seven times previously.
Williams was beaten on Centre Court by Australian Maya Joint in three sets, but the veteran suffered an injury that threw her participation in the doubles competition into serious doubt.
She was slated to play alongside sister Venus for the first time since 2022, and for the first time at Wimbledon since their 2016 triumph, which ended up being their most recent major doubles triumph.
They had been scheduled to face Solana Sierra and Camila Osorio in the first round, but their match was nowhere to be seen on Thursday and Friday’s orders of play, despite those days being when the first round of the women’s doubles was to be played.
Instead, they cropped up on Saturday’s schedule, but their court was “to be announced” as All England Club chiefs sweated over Serena’s fitness.
However, she has now confirmed in an Instagram post that she will not partner Venus, and as such, Sierra and Osorio will instead face Murray Sharan and Lanlana Tararudee, the Brit and Argentine pair.
"I'm heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles," Serena wrote on social media.
"Coming back to compete again has been a gift, and the opportunity to play alongside Venus once more meant the world to me.
"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 after your incredible support and for making this comeback so meaningful.
"All I can say is stay tuned to a city near you."
Williams’ message accompanied a carousel of photos and videos showing her knee heavily bandaged, as she hobbled through the corridor of the house she has been staying in in London.
She also showed syringes carrying “the fluid they drained from my knee after the singles match”.
