Serena Williams confirms withdrawal from Wimbledon doubles owing to knee injury - 'I did everything I could, but I'm not ready to compete'
By Alan Smith
Updated 04/07/2026 at 17:59 GMT+1
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Serena Williams has withdrawn from the doubles at Wimbledon, with the 23-time Grand Slam winner unable to play owing to a knee injury. Serena was set to play alongside sister Venus on Saturday evening.
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The six-time Wimbledon doubles champions and 14-time Grand Slam doubles winners had been granted a wildcard to reunite at the All England Club for the first time since the 2022 US Open, where they last played together in a Grand Slam.
They were due to face Solana Sierra and Camila Osorio in Saturday's opening round.
However, the 44-year-old was unable to recover from a knee issue picked up late in the first set of her opening-round singles defeat to Australia's Maya Joint on Tuesday.
It was Serena's first Grand Slam singles appearance in nearly four years, with Joint winning a three-set contest 6-3 6-7(6) 6-3 on Centre Court.
Williams did not attend her post-match media duties, with Wimbledon organisers stating she was "not able to undertake" them. Her absence initially prompted speculation before her team confirmed she had been dealing with the knee injury.
In an effort to give her additional time to recover, officials pushed the sisters’ doubles match into Saturday’s schedule in what would have been their first appearance together at Wimbledon since their 2016 triumph.
But shortly before she was due to carry out her practice session, Williams confirmed she would not be fit to compete.
Scroll through her Instagram post below to see how much fluid was drained from her knee in an effort to compete in the women's doubles.
In the post, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion said: "I'm heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles. Coming back to compete again has been a gift, and the opportunity to play alongside Venus once more meant the world to me.
"I did everything I could, but unfortunately, my knee just isn’t ready to compete.
"I'm especially grateful to tournament director Jamie Baker and the entire tournament team for giving me every opportunity to recover.
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Serena Williams was beaten in straight sets by Maya Joint in the first round
Image credit: Getty Images
"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."
Her post was accompanied by a video showing her walking with a heavily bandaged right leg, as well as images from treatment, including fluid drainage from her knee after Tuesday’s match.
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"The photo of the syringes is the fluid they drained from my knee after my singles match - yikes!" she added.
"The good news is that my knee shouldn’t swell or collect that much fluid again. The bad news is that, as hard as I tried, I wasn’t able to be ready for doubles."
Sierra and Osorio will now face Samantha Murray Sharan and Lanlana Tararudee, the Brit and Argentine pair, for a place in the next round.
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Serena Williams suffered a knee injury in going down to Joint on Tuesday
Image credit: Getty Images
The withdrawal ends a brief comeback spell that began earlier this summer, featuring a doubles appearance at Queen’s Club alongside Victoria Mboko and a later run in Berlin with Karolina Muchova, before her Wimbledon campaign across singles and doubles.
Williams has not confirmed her next tournament, though her remarks suggested further appearances remain possible.
Venus Williams, meanwhile, is set to continue her return to competition at upcoming WTA events in Washington and Toronto on wildcards.
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