Wimbledon is once again under Serena Williams’ watch amid reports the iconic champion was offered crutches at the All England Club following her injury loss to Maya Joynt, jeopardizing her doubles appearance alongside her older sister Venus.
As Australian trainer Renna Stubbs criticized her “lack of empathy” following the furore over her initial lack of recognition of Maya Joynt and failure to attend media commitments, news of injury concerns emerged nearly 14 hours later.
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Failure to comply with press obligations could result in a fine of up to $50,000, but citing injury or illness is an acceptable excuse, and Williams’ agent Jill Smoller released a statement to The Times of London saying the 23-time champion had injured her knee.
But the statement made clear that the icon, who appeared to have had his knee taped during training last week, was able to leave the club unassisted.
“Serena injured her right knee late in the first set and has therefore been released from her media obligations by the Wimbledon and WTA medical teams,” Smoller said.
“She left the court unassisted that night and is doing everything she can to be ready for the doubles match later this week.”
Serena Williams during her match against Australia’s Maya Joynt.Source: Getty Images
The 44-year-old appeared to face no obstacles during her three-set defeat to the Joint in her first singles event since the 2022 US Open, and at no stage was she required or given medical attention during the match, which saw her launch a big comeback in the second set. She was also able to walk off the court without any problems, taking time to wave goodbye to the fans on Center Court as they gave her a standing ovation after a thrilling encounter that ended around 10 p.m.
Williams subsequently posted congratulations to the young Australian on social media on Wednesday, saying the knee issue was a concern.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the wild card – and even more grateful to my daughters that it’s never too late to do what you love,” she wrote.
“I injured my knee at the end of the first set, but I will do everything in my power to be ready for the doubles set with Venus.
“Congratulations to Maya Joynt on a great match and thank you to everyone who came out and showed me so much love. This feeling never gets old.”
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The criticism clearly angered Stubbs, a former world No. 1 in doubles and multiple major team pursuit winner who worked with the seven-time major champion during her return to tennis.
“The hate and lack of empathy in this world is astounding to me, especially when you have no idea what you’re talking about. (It) just blows my mind,” Stubbs wrote.
Regardless of how severe the “fix” was, Williams put in the effort and performed at a level that more than justified the decision to grant her a wild card, an offer that was criticized in some quarters despite her status as a seven-time champion.
Although her stats dipped in the third set, midway through the match she was above the tournament average in most metrics in an entertaining contest.
The Williams sisters, six-time Wimbledon doubles winners, were drawn with Colombia’s Camila Osorio and Spain’s Solana Sierra in the first round of their match, which is likely to be scheduled for Thursday.
Venus Williams, 46, also received a wildcard to the Wimbledon mixed doubles championships.