Serena Williams returned to Wimbledon after nearly four years away but a knee tweak in her first set left her doubles schedule with Venus uncertain, with their Thursday July 2 match missing from the online card and no practice slot for Serena on Wednesday.
Serena Williams walked off the court after a long, exhausting loss, but the real uncertainty landed later—on the schedule.
The 44-year-old returned to Wimbledon after nearly four years away. with doubles plans that once promised a quick emotional rebound: she and her sister Venus were set to be paired for a match against Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra. initially scheduled for Thursday. July 2. By Thursday, the match did not appear on the Wimbledon schedule posted online.
The absence immediately changed the mood around the sisters’ comeback week. The match could still take place on Friday, July 3, but the schedule for that day had not been released at the time the updated listings were reviewed.
Serena’s situation also showed up in her day-to-day routine before the match. She was not scheduled to practice at the All England Club on Wednesday, while Venus was slated to practice alone, according to ESPN.
On court, Serena’s singles return didn’t go the way she needed it to. She suffered a 3-set loss to 20-year-old Maya Joint, with the score 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3. The match stretched to 2 hours and 22 minutes before it was over.
After the match, Williams’ agent, Jill Smoller, said Serena tweaked her knee during the first set. Serena did not speak about the loss after leaving the court. The Wimbledon and WTA medical teams excused her from post-match media so she could receive treatment.
Even so, Serena made her focus clear in a message posted on Instagram. “I tweaked my knee late in the first set, but I’ll be doing everything I can to be ready for doubles with @venuswilliams,” she wrote.
Those details line up in a way that leaves the stakes hard to miss: the knee tweak wasn’t a headline afterthought—it arrived during the first set of her comeback singles match. then followed her out of the arena in the form of treatment and a missing Thursday doubles listing. Whether Serena can play doubles on Friday will now depend on what her knee does next. and how quickly she can get through the treatment plan ahead of the next card update.
For fans who showed up expecting the sisters to share the same court again this week, the timing is the cruel part. The match could move to Friday, but until Wimbledon publishes it, the comeback story has an unanswered question mark—one that starts on Serena’s knee and ends on the doubles draw.
Serena Williams Venus Williams Wimbledon doubles schedule knee injury Maya Joint Camila Osorio Solana Sierra July 2 July 3
So Serena got hurt and they just… forgot to list it? classic Wimbledon website moment.
I don’t get it, if her knee was tweaked in the first set then how is Venus supposed to play doubles anyway. Like they should just reschedule and be done.
Wait she practiced with Venus or no? The article says Serena wasn’t scheduled to practice Wed but Venus was. That makes it sound like Serena already knew it was bad? Also she lost singles in 3 sets but Wimbledon removed the doubles match from the card… seems like WTA is messing with the schedule on purpose or something.
This is so sad. I swear it’s always somebody’s knee at Wimbledon like it’s cursed. If they don’t publish Friday yet then what, it’s cancelled? My feed said the doubles match was Thursday but now it’s missing so I’m confused. Hope she’s okay though, Serena looked exhausted after that singles match.