Serena Williams has withdrawn from the women’s doubles competition at Wimbledon with a right knee injury, ending a planned reunion with sister Venus Williams at the tournament.The 44-year-old suffered the injury during her return to singles earlier this week, where she lost the match in three sets.Announcing her retirement in an Instagram post, Serena wrote: “I’m heartbroken to have to retire from doubles. Coming back to compete again was a gift and the opportunity to play alongside Venus Williams once again meant a lot to me. I did everything I could but unfortunately my knee just isn’t ready to compete.”Along with the post, Serena shared pictures of four syringes, saying they showed “the fluid they drained from my knee after my singles match.” She also posted a video of herself walking with a heavy sling on her right leg, while one of her daughters appeared to carry a cane for her.Despite the setback, Serena hinted that she could return to competition long ago, with the US Open approaching.“All I can say,” Serena added, “is keep an eye on the town near you.”The Williams sisters were scheduled to face Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra in the first round. Their match was the only women’s doubles first-round contest not played earlier this week, after it was postponed to give Serena more time to recover.Serena returned to singles play on Tuesday, but was beaten 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 by 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint.Venus also competed in Friday’s mixed doubles competition alongside Kevin Krawietz. The pair lost in straight sets to Tereza Mihalikova and Lloyd Glasspool.The Williams sisters have won six Wimbledon titles together in women’s doubles.
