Serena Williams’ comeback tournament could now be over despite her opening-round victory. Her doubles partner, Victoria Mboko, has had to withdraw due to injury.
Despite her convincing comeback on the WTA Tour, the tournament at London’s Queen’s Club could soon come to a premature end for tennis icon Serena Williams. Victoria Mboko (19), the doubles partner of the 44-year-old American, was forced to withdraw from her singles round of 16 match on Wednesday due to injury.
On Thursday, the pair were scheduled to face Germany’s Laura Siegemund and her Canadian partner Leylah Fernandez.
Mboko slipped behind the baseline during her match against Karolina Pliskova. The slip nearly forced the Canadian into a split. The 19-year-old screamed in pain and withdrew from the match shortly thereafter.
She left the court in tears. An injury to her left knee was subsequently given as the official diagnosis.
The day before, Mboko had put in a strong performance alongside Williams. The rising star and the 23-time Grand Slam champion won their opening doubles match against Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) and Erin Routliffe (New Zealand) 7-6 (7-2), 6-2.
Does Williams now have to change her plans?
1,376 days after her last match to date, Williams had made her highly anticipated return a reality and appeared fit despite her advanced age and long break from competition. The American could rely on her powerful groundstrokes and hard serve.
Williams, the former dominant force on the tennis tour, plans to compete at the WTA tournament in Berlin next week following her spectacular comeback in London. In Germany, too, she is only entered in doubles. Should Mboko have suffered a more serious injury, Williams might have to change her plans.
Williams has so far left open the possibility of a return to singles play. “Right now, it’s a no. I feel like I probably need to train a little more if I want to play singles,” she said before her opening match at Queen’s Club: “We’ll see if I can do it.”