Venus Williams could face a fine of up to £37,000 ($50,000) after skipping her post-match press conference following a mixed doubles defeat at Wimbledon. The 46-year-old, playing alongside Kevin Krawietz on a wildcard, lost 6-4, 6-4 to seventh seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Tereza Mihalíková on Court 14, then declined her media request without offering any comment through the WTA or the All England Club.

According to Grand Slam rules, players must attend post-match media duties within a reasonable time frame unless excused on medical or other reasonable grounds, at the discretion of the Grand Slam supervisors. The rulebook explicitly states that it is mandatory for both winning and losing players and teams to participate in media meetings after each game, including walkovers, unless the referee deems there is good cause not to do so. 

It’s the same thing that happened to her sister days earlier. Serena also skipped her press conference after losing to Maya Joint in singles, but escaped punishment once it emerged she had tweaked her knee during the match. Her agent, Jill Smoller, confirmed Wimbledon and WTA medical staff had excused Serena at the time. Venus has offered no such explanation so far, leaving her latest no-show without the same safety net her sister was given.

Serena and Venus’s doubles reunion still hangs in the balance

While Venus deals with the fallout from her own no-show, the bigger story around the Williams sisters remains unresolved. Serena’s knee issue has complicated their scheduled first-round doubles match against Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra, a reunion ten years in the making after the sisters last lifted the Wimbledon doubles trophy together. It has been rescheduled for Sunday and is still listed as “to be arranged” with no start time or allocated court before 4:30 pm. 

Tournament director Jamie Baker addressed the uncertainty directly when asked about it. “We are giving her as much time as possible. Obviously, we want her to play, if she possibly can,” he said. He also explained that Wimbledon does occasionally build in flexibility for situations like this. 

“In terms of the days, it’s a guideline. That’s what we’re hoping to do based on trying to get the tournament finished. There are actually sometimes exceptional circumstances, whether it’s weather or injuries or actually sometimes also conflicts of players playing in two or three events.” 

Baker was careful to add that any accommodation has its limits, noting organizers would not risk delaying the rest of the draw to make the match happen. That means Sunday is when the Williams sisters either reunite at Wimbledon or quietly wrap up plans, with Serena’s recovery the sole obstacle in between the two.