Why did Serena Williams, Venus Williams withdraw from Wimbledon?

Serena Williams and Venus Williams have not competed in doubles together since the 2022 US Open. Up until a few weeks ago, tennis fans assumed they’d seen the Williams sisters play together for the last time, as Serena Williams announced she was “evolving away from tennis” as Vogue’s Sept. 2022 cover star.

Then Serena Williams returned to professional tennis by competing in doubles at the HSBC Championships and Berlin Tennis Open in June, and Wimbledon announced that Serena, 44, and Venus, 46, had received a wild card to compete together in women’s doubles. Some mixture of excitement and nostalgia erupted, but the wait to witness the Williams sisters will continue.

Last week, Serena Williams played her first singles match since the 2022 US Open in the first round of Wimbledon. After three intense sets, she lost to Maya Joint, 20. She also “tweaked” her knee, which put doubles in doubt.

After Wimbledon kept moving back the Williams’ match against Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra, Serena Williams confirmed her withdrawal due to her knee.

“I’m heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles,” Williams captioned an Instagram carousel. “Coming back to compete again has been a gift, and the opportunity to play alongside @venuswilliams once more meant the world to me. I did everything I could to be ready, but unfortunately my knee just isn’t ready to compete.”

Her captioned continued, “I’m especially grateful to tournament director, Jamie Baker, and the entire tournament team for giving me every opportunity to play here. Thank you to the fans for your incredible support and for making this comeback so meaningful…All I can say is stay tuned to a city near you…”

Williams also contextualized the photos of four syringes holding yellow liquid, saying they showed “the fluid they drained from my knee” after her loss to Joint. “The good news is my knee shouldn’t swell or collect that much fluid again. The bad news is that, as hard as I tried, I just wasn’t able to get it ready for doubles,” the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion wrote.

Serena and Venus have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together, including six at Wimbledon.

There has been buzz about Williams competing at the US Open next month. She has not explicitly confirmed it, but she appears to be hinting at it in her Instagram caption. Fingers crossed the Williams sisters’ reunion is just delayed and not denied.