Even after all the anticipation, Serena Williams‘ singles return to Wimbledon turned out to be anticlimactic. She got knocked out of the first round by Maya Joint, who triumphed 6-3, 6-7, 6-3. Despite this, Serena’s fans were still in high spirits as she was also scheduled to play doubles alongside her sister, Venus Williams. However, her hopes of participating have been dampened due to a knee injury that she picked up during the clash against Joint.
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It won’t be wrong to say that Serena put in a commendable effort in her first outing after four years at the SW19. After straightforwardly losing the first, she mounted an impressive comeback in the second set. She gained two crucial breaks against Joint’s serve and dragged the set to a tiebreaker.
Despite winning the breaker 8-6 and taking the match to a decider, Serena’s resilience would eventually be brought to an end. Joint left her chasing in the third set and came back from a break down to win the match. This was arguably the biggest win of Joint’s career and one that she simply won’t forget.
After the match, Serena surprisingly decided to skip the post-match press conference. This move caused quite a stir as many wanted to hear what she had to say about the match and her future on the tour. The media would soon receive an explanation as to why Serena missed the conference.
Exclusive: Serena Williams injured her right knee during her singles comeback and is a doubt to play doubles later this week with her sister, Venus. Crutches were brought to Williams’ locker room last night but she left the All England Club unassisted thetimes.com/sport/tennis/w…
Since the confirmation of her knee injury, many were startled as she didn’t show signs of discomfort during the match. With the seriousness of the injury still unknown, fans have raised doubts about Serena’s condition.
Fans raise eyebrows over Serena Williams’ physical condition
A fan claimed that Serena hasn’t taken the loss very well and now isn’t interested in participating at the doubles draw. “Such BS. She just can’t handle losing.”
Another fan also expressed a pretty similar sentiment and felt that Serena is way too disappointed with the defeat to Joint. “Oh. And there was me thinking she was just cheesed off at losing to someone she thought she could bludgeon off the court and was sulking.”
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Jun 30, 2026; London, United Kingdom; Serena Williams Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images
There was also a fan who felt that it shouldn’t have taken Serena almost a day to reveal the injury. “Then it would make sense but could have been stated that yesterday. Or they made it up following all the hate she got because of it? Will see.”
A fan even claimed that the injury was made up. “Injury gimmick for a loss against Maya Joint.”
Finally, a fan also accused the media of going to unprecedented lengths to protect Serena’s public image. “Oh, the beautiful media fire-extinguishing on social media.”
Serena and Venus will take on the duo of Solana Sierra and Camila Osorio in the first round at Wimbledon. The clash is scheduled for Thursday, so it remains to be seen if Serena will be able to recover by that time.