Venus Williams lost in her first round at Wimbledon on Monday after she returned to the court following a leg injury sustained from slipping on the grass mid-match.
While one point away from a 3-0 lead against Elina Svitolina, the 43-year-old tennis legend fell while trying to volley, ESPN reported.
According to the outlet, Williams “shrieked and clutched at her right knee, which already was covered by a beige sleeve” from a medical timeout following the first set in the match.
She stayed down on the grass as chalk was applied to her left leg. The chair umpire and Svitolina — who brought over a white towel to place under her opponent’s head — checked on Williams as she received treatment from a medical trainer.
“I’m not sure what I’ve done. I’m going to have to investigate it tomorrow. It’s late today. But it was quite painful,” Williams said at a press conference after the match, per ESPN. “Grass is inherently going to be slippery; you’re going to fall at some point. It was just bad luck for me. I started the match perfectly. I was literally killing it. And then I got killed by the grass.”
“Right now, I’m kind of in shock. I can’t believe this happened. It’s bizarre. I’m still processing it at the moment,” continued Williams. “What makes this one hard to process is that I’ve had so many injuries. … This is not what I want for myself.”
Svitolina, a 2019 Wimbledon semi finalist, came out the winner with a total score of 6-2. “It’s always a pleasure to play against Venus,” the 28-year-old player said per ESPN, adding that Williams is a “big legend.”
“Grass takes a lot out of the legs and you have to bend your legs to get to all these shots,” noted Svitolina. “Venus plays really quick and I had to really work hard for today’s win.”
Monday’s match marked Williams’ 24th time playing at Wimbledon. She has previously won seven Grand Slam singles titles and partnered with sister Serena Williams to win 14 Grand Slam doubles titles.
“I’m a competitor. That’s what I do for a living. I did what I could today,” Williams said. “I’ve played through a lot of matches and won a lot of matches injured. It’s kind of a specialty of mine. I just never figured it out today.”
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