Serena Williams was trying to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 grand slam titles, but her quest for history ended in tears.
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Serena Williams‘ quest for Wimbledon history ended in tears last night as she was forced to quit early in her first-round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus because of a leg injury.
The 39-year-old American, was heavily strapped on her right thigh from the start of the match. She led 3-1 but slipped twice on the court and was she was in serious pain. Williams, who was trying to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 grand slam titles, had the trainer out and tried to play on with the pain.
Serena Williams receives a standing ovation from the crowd at #Wimbledon
Williams was forced to retire in the first round of after sustaining an apparent injury. pic.twitter.com/exFZxJJZGh
— ESPN (@espn) June 29, 2021
With the score at 3-3, she called it a day. “I’m so sad for Serena,” Sasnovich said. “She’s a great champion, this happens sometimes in tennis.”
The sight of Williams in pain and in tears was hard to watch. Williams had worked hard to get back to fitness, having missed three months after the Australian Open. After returning she played three events, including the French Open, where she reached the fourth round.
She went into Wimbledon having played all matches on Clay court. She had no warm-up event on grass. However, as the No 6 seed and with her history, she shared the favourite’s status with top seed Ash Barty.
.@serenawilliams updated her fans after a leg injury in her first-round match forced her to withdraw from Wimbledon. pic.twitter.com/oXPbYcnctA
— espnW (@espnW) June 29, 2021
“I was heartbroken to have to withdraw today after injuring my right leg,” she said in a statement posted late evening on her Instagram account.
However, she gave no indication in the statement of how serious the injury was nor about her future.
It is the first time that Williams has bowed out in the opening round of Wimbledon in 20 appearances. She had previously lost only once in the first round at any Slam, at the 2012 French Open.
The tears said it all as with the withdrawals of 2019 champion Simona Halep and of Naomi Osaka prior to the tournament the American would have fancied her chances of at last equalling Court’s landmark.
Serena hasn’t won a Slam since the 2017 Australian Open losing in four finals, twice at Wimbledon and the US Open.
“Brutal for @serenawilliams but centre court is extremely slippy out there. Not easy to move out there,” tweeted British star Andy Murray.
Williams’s slip came at the same end of the court as that of Adrian Mannarino which brought a premature end to the Frenchman’s hard-fought match with Roger Federer.
Mannarino slipped late in the fourth set and pulled out at the beginning of the fifth set.
Serena Williams and Adrian Mannarino each slipped and were forced to retire after suffering injuries at #Wimbledon today.
The injuries occured in back-to-back matches at Centre Court. pic.twitter.com/Z3hLDv3bAI
— ESPN (@espn) June 29, 2021
Federer felt the surface was more slippery when the roof is in use which it had been due to rain earlier on Tuesday. “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.
“This is obviously terrible that it’s back-to-back matches and it hits Serena as well. Oh, my God, I can’t believe it.”
On the other side, Venus Williams came through her first-round match on Tuesday in what is her record 90th Grand Slam appearance. The five-time champion beat Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.
