Serena Williams Played Wimbledon With a Knee Injury. Her Doubles Status Is Now in Doubt.

Serena Williams might not be done at Wimbledon just yet, but her right knee is definitely giving her trouble.

Her agent, Jill Smoller, confirmed Wednesday that Williams tweaked her knee near the end of the first set during her Tuesday singles loss to Maya Joint. That’s why she didn’t stick around to talk to reporters after the match, which ended 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3. Smoller told ESPN News Services that Williams left the All England Club that night without help and is doing everything she can to be ready for doubles.

The doubles draw has Serena and her sister Venus scheduled to face Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra. But here’s the thing — Serena wasn’t on the practice schedule Wednesday at all. Venus was listed to practice on her own. That’s not nothing.

This was Serena’s first singles match since the 2022 U.S. Open. She’s 44 years old now, and she got a wild card earlier this month to compete here. For a set and a half, she actually looked like she might pull it off. She fought back to force a third set against Joint, a 20-year-old who grew up idolizing her. The match lasted two hours and 22 minutes. The crowd was electric. But the knee started barking in the first set, and by the third, she couldn’t move the way she needed to.

Nobody’s saying Serena is out of doubles yet. The Williams sisters have won six Wimbledon doubles titles together. They know how to manage pain and adjust their games. But a tweaked knee on grass — that’s a real concern. Grass is slippery, the footing changes every point, and one bad step can turn a tweak into something worse.

The team hasn’t made any official change to the schedule yet. Smoller’s statement was careful: She said Serena is doing everything she can to be ready. That’s agent-speak for “we’re monitoring it hour by hour.”

Fans online noted she didn’t seem to be moving great in the second set, especially when she had to push off on her right leg. And the fact that she skipped media afterward — that’s not like her, unless something is actually wrong.

So the question now is whether the doubles match happens at all. If it does, Serena might play through it. If not, this Wimbledon won’t just be a quick exit. It’ll be another reminder that time catches up to everyone, even the greatest.