In an unfortunate turn of events, Serena Williams had to bow out of the 2021 Wimbledon Championships in tears. Aiming for the elusive 24th Grand Slam title, Williams hopes ended when she slipped and had to have her left ankle examined.

Leading 3-1 in the opening set, the seven-time Wimbledon champion seemed poised for a straight-set victory. With her right thigh strapped from the start, Williams slipped on the court during the fifth game while hitting a forehand.

Suffering from agonizing pain, the American received an off-court medical timeout, however; it didn’t help as she continued to struggle. Walking gingerly, crying between points, the tennis star eventually knelt down in pain and retired from the match.

Serena Williams’ coach pens a heartfelt post

Williams coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, penned a post on Instagram describing his thoughts over the heart-breaking incident. The Frenchman mentioned Williams put her heart and soul into the preparation and badly wanted to lift the title.

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“Serena trained hard. She was ready. She wanted it with all her heart. But unfortunately, her foot slipped and her body, as it reacted, broke down. It is heartbreaking but there is nothing we can do about it, except working and trying again,” wrote Mouratoglou.

Crying profusely on having forced to retire, Williams left the Centre Court in tears amidst thunderous applause from the crowd. For the fans, it was an incredibly emotional moment to witness Williams in tears, on what could have been her last ever appearance at the All England Club.

Touching 40 in a couple of months, Williams’ chase to equal Margaret Court’s record continues. Over the last four years, she has tasted defeat in each of her four Grand Slam Final appearances.

However, after a tearful exit from Wimbledon, a tournament she would have been the most confident to win owing to her track record, it remains a question whether Williams would achieve the ever distant 24th major championship.