Serena Williams’ Wimbledon came to a premature end as she was forced to retire in the first round due to injury. In the first set against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Serena dropped to the ground after returning a shot and was in clear pain.
There have been concerns about the condition of Centre Court as Serena was the second tennis player to go down due to injury on the same day. Adrian Mannarino was also injured in his match against Roger Federer and was forced to retire. Many, including Federer and Andy Murray, are expressing concerns about how slippery Centre Court is.
It’s too little, too late for organizers to fix that because Serena is out. It’s a shame because at 39, she doesn’t have too many grand slams left in her already illustrious career. Serena won’t want this to be her last moment at Wimbledon but retirement is coming at some point.
Those in attendance gave Serena a standing ovation as she walked away in tears.
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
Serena posted on Instagram to reveal she had to withdraw due to a right leg injury and showed her appreciation toward the fans for their support.
View this post on Instagram
[ESPN]
