Serena Williams’ Wimbledon has come to an unfortunate early end. The American tennis star suffered a leg injury in her first-round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
Williams slipped and fell on the slippery turf of center court at Wimbledon. He tried to play his service game with the match tied at 3-3 in the first set, but was unable to continue.
As a result, he withdrew from the match, allowing Sasnovich to advance.
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The Wimbledon turf has attracted a lot of attention during the first two days of the tournament, especially on center court. Many players have slipped on the surface, as the rain has left the courts unusually slippery.
Several tennis stars have spoken out on the issue. Men’s World No. 1 Novak Djokovic joked about the conditions on the court after his four-set win over Jack Draper.
“To be honest, I don’t remember falling so many times on the court.” Djokovic said.
And in the wake of Williams’ departure, British fan favorite Andy Murray fired on the court as well.
Brutal to @Serena Williams but the center court is extremely slippery. It is not easy to get around.
– Andy Murray (@andy_murray) June 29, 2021
Roger Federer’s match, which took place immediately before Williams, was also affected by a slip. The tournament’s No. 6 player emerged with a victory after his opponent, Adrian Mannarino, retired before the fifth set.
Even despite that, Federer was in shock after Williams’ early departure.
“Oh my gosh I can’t believe it,” Federer said after being informed of the news at his press conference, according to Mike McIntyre.
Meanwhile, other devastated tennis fans took to Twitter to send their good wishes to Williams and to inform Wimbledon of the problems his slippery turf is causing.
There is no athlete that I root for more than Serena Williams. NO ONE. So this was shocking and heartbreaking to watch. She is out of #Wimbledon in the first round. It just happened. He tried to fight a wound, crying, but couldn’t continue.
– TJ Holmes (@tjholmes) June 29, 2021
Serena Williams was forced to fold in the first round of #Wimbledon after suffering an apparent injury.
It is only the second time in his career that he has retired from a major game. pic.twitter.com/0po8zSbhT5
– SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 29, 2021
Center court is a safety hazard, please solve it.
– Gavin Hugill (@ gav_26) June 29, 2021
Fix your courts 🤬
– Roger Winerer 🎾🎾 (@failedcupcakes) June 29, 2021
with this condition there will be more player injuries. Fix the court!
– Henry Thonger (@henrythonger) June 29, 2021
Dry the courts! Conditions cannot be played! You are all responsible for this #Wimbledon
– John Thrasher 🏳️🌈 (@jthrasher) June 29, 2021
Serena Williams will always be the GOAT 🐐! Thank you for inspiring a generation of young black women and girls. We love you Champ !!! 🎾🏆@Serena Williams
– olivia papa (@chelseatocool) June 29, 2021
We’ll see if conditions improve at Wimbledon soon, but with Williams out of the tournament, the damage has already been done.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.