Williams Sisters Withdraw from Wimbledon Doubles Due to Serena's Knee Injury

Tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams have announced their withdrawal from the Wimbledon doubles competition, just as they were set to make their debut on Saturday. The decision stems from a right knee injury sustained by Serena during her singles match earlier in the week.

Serena Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, expressed her deep regret over the withdrawal. "It hurts me so much to have to withdraw from the doubles competition," she stated in an Instagram post. "Coming back to compete has been a gift, and the opportunity to play alongside Venus once more meant the world to me. I did everything I could, but unfortunately, my knee is still not ready to compete."

The withdrawal comes just four days after Serena experienced a recurrence of her knee issue at the end of the first set against Maya Joint in her first singles match at Wimbledon in nearly four years. The match ultimately saw Joint win 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3.

The Williams sisters, who have an impressive record with six Wimbledon doubles titles and 14 Grand Slam doubles championships collectively, were slated to face Argentina's Solana Sierra and Colombia's Camila Osorio. This would have marked their first doubles appearance together since the 2022 US Open, the same tournament where Serena played her final singles match before her Wimbledon return.

Following a special invitation, their planned doubles match has been replaced by one featuring Sierra and Osorio against Great Britain's Samantha Murray Sharan and Thailand's Lanlana Tararudee. While Venus, 46, lost in mixed doubles on Friday, she is scheduled to compete in the WTA 500 event in Washington and the WTA 1000 in Toronto as a special invitee. Serena, 44, has not yet revealed her future tournament plans.

“

It hurts me so much to have to withdraw from the doubles competition. Coming back to compete has been a gift, and the opportunity to play alongside Venus once more meant the world to me. I did everything I could, but unfortunately, my knee is still not ready to compete.