Venus Williams screams in pain as she slips and injures her knee just three games after her much-anticipated Wimbledon return
- Venus Williams returned to her 24th Wimbledon singles appearance this week
- Just three games later, she slipped and injured her right knee, which was already buckled
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Venus Williams screamed in pain and clutched her knee after slipping on the grass on Monday afternoon just three games into her Wimbledon second leg.
The 43-year-old American, returning to her 24th individual appearance at the Championships, faces a difficult opponent in Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.
But things turned bad when it was only 2-1 in the first set when Williams came into the net to volley, slipping on the turf and spraining her already-buckled knee.
The crowd on Center Court gasped audibly as five-time Wimbledon champion Williams screamed in pain before the referee and medical staff immediately came to his aid.
After a few minutes she was able to stand up on her own and called a coach to look after her on the sidelines.
Venus Williams was in severe pain after slipping on the grass on her Wimbledon return
Williams clutches her right knee after slipping on the wet turf of Center Court on Monday
After a short break in play, Williams attempted to resume play but was still in visible pain over the next few games as she grimaced.
She lost three games in a row as fans speculated if she could continue before bouncing back to bring the score back to 4-3 in a defeat.
Williams has won five Wimbledon singles titles in her career and competed 24 times, but she missed 2022 and many believed her time in SW19 was over.
She received a wildcard entry after beating world No. 48 Camila Giorgi in a Wimbledon warm-up tournament in Birmingham and suggested in interviews leading up to the tournament that she could play until she was 50.