Serena Williams was expected to be a doubt for her doubles reunion with Venus, but ESPN says the sisters are still on. Andy Roddick and Malika Andrews announced on the network’s Wimbledon desk that Serena and Venus are expected to play together despite Serena’s knee injury.

The turmoil had been growing since Wednesday. Tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg noted that while the sisters had not officially withdrawn, they were still missing from the women’s doubles schedule for Friday. All other first-round games in the draw had already been scheduled for Thursday or Friday. The window provided ample opportunity for speculation, and it coincided with a genuine worry about Serena’s fitness after her first singles loss. 

The injury itself came during a three-set battle against 20-year-old Maya Joint on Tuesday, Serena’s first singles match at Wimbledon since 2022. She took the second set before Joint fought back to win 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3, and Williams tweaked her right knee late in that opening set. She skipped her post-match press conference as a result, with her agent Jill Smoller explaining she had been excused by Wimbledon and WTA medical staff. 

“She left the site that night unaided and is doing everything she can to be ready for her doubles match later this week,” Smoller said. Reports at the time noted crutches had been offered to Williams in the locker room, an offer she turned down.

Serena Williams addressed the injury herself on Instagram the following day, thanking fans for their support during her singles return and confirming her intention to push through. “I tweaked my knee late in the first set, but I’ll be doing everything I can to be ready for doubles with Venus Williams,” she wrote. 

There’s more at stake than the injury drama at that reunion. Should Serena take the court on Friday, it will mark the first time she and Venus have played doubles together at Wimbledon since 2016 and their first time sharing a court anywhere since the 2022 US Open.

The sisters have achieved a combined total of 14 Grand Slam doubles titles. Serena alone has secured 23 major singles titles, including seven at Wimbledon, while Venus has won five Wimbledon singles titles. That history is one of the reasons why the pairing has already garnered “Williams fever” at the All England Club this week, before a ball has been hit in doubles. 

‘Williams Fever’ at Wimbledon

The build-up to this moment has been carefully managed on both sides. In June, Serena returned to doubles action with Victoria Mboko at Queen’s Club, a victory that led to Mboko missing the next doubles bout due to her own injury. Venus, who returned from retirement last season with a singles win over Peyton Stearns at the Citi Open, has kept a heavier doubles schedule since, going 2-6 across various partnerships this year. 

Wednesday’s practice schedule offered a small hint of encouragement, too, with Venus listed to train while Serena’s own session remained unconfirmed, a detail that only added to the will-they-won’t-they tension around Friday’s match.

Their first-round opponents, Solana Sierra and Camila Osorio, now find themselves at the center of one of the most-watched matches of the tournament, regardless of the result. For Serena and Venus, it would be a milestone in itself to be on the court as a pair again. Whether injured or not, it makes it a challenging task for their opponents, who are now in the middle of tennis history.