Injured Serena Williams bids adieu to Wimbledon in tears

Tennis ace Serena Williams bids adieu to Wimbledon in tears on Tuesday after her latest bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles crown ended in injury.

The seven-time Wimbledon winner was clearly in pain on a slippery Centre Court and sought treatment while 3-2 up in her first-round match against unseeded Belarussian Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

Serena Williams retires with injury from her Round 1 match at #Wimbledon

Get well soon, Serena. 💔pic.twitter.com/Y9ex4N8L3P

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) June 29, 2021

Williams returned after a lengthy break but her distress was evident. She grimaced and wiped away tears before preparing to serve at 3-3 after Sasnovich had pulled back from 3-1 down.

The 39-year-old American tennis star, who had started the match with strapping on her right thigh, then let out a shriek and sank kneeling to the grass sobbing, before being helped off the court with an apparent ankle injury.

“Brutal for @serenawilliams but centre court is extremely slippy out there. Not easy to move out there,” Britain’s Andy Murray said on Twitter.

Brutal for @serenawilliams but centre court is extremely slippy out there. Not easy to move out there.

— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) June 29, 2021

Eight-times men’s singles champion Roger Federer expressed shock at Williams’ departure and voiced concern about the surface, with the roof closed on Centre Court on a rainy afternoon.

His first-round opponent Adrian Mannarino of France also retired with a knee injury after a slip in the match immediately before Williams’.

“I do feel it feels a tad more slippery maybe under the roof. I don’t know if it’s just a gut feeling. You do have to move very, very carefully out there. If you push too hard in the wrong moments, you do go down,” said Federer.

Williams has been a Wimbledon finalist in her last four appearances but her bid to equal Margaret Court’s record 24 Grand Slam singles titles remains stalled since her last Grand Slam win in Australia in 2017.

With the absence this year of world number two Naomi Osaka and third-ranked Simona Halep, it was a golden opportunity for Williams. With Williams out of Wimbledon, 18-time Grand Slam champion Chrissie Evert says, “It’s anybody’s tournament.”

Poise and grace in the most trying of circumstances.#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/6O6dvpReXi

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 29, 2021