Serena Williams exits Wimbledon with a leg injury

Wimbledon, England

SERENA Williams' 20th Wimbledon ended shortly after it began. She retired 34 minutes into the first set of her first-round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich on Tuesday night because of a right hamstring injury.

"I was heartbroken to have to withdraw today after injuring my right leg," Williams wrote in a post on Instagram, adding: "Feeling the extraordinary warmth and support of the crowd today when I walked on - and off - the court meant the world to me."

It was poignant to see Williams, one of the great champions in any sport, in pain and in tears on the famous patch of grass where she has often triumphed through the years. She has won seven Wimbledon singles titles, six women's doubles titles and one mixed doubles title on Centre Court. Tuesday brought her earliest exit in singles at the All England Club. Her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, said that the injury was to the "top of the hamstring".

Williams started her match against Sasnovich with her right thigh taped, just as it was during the French Open early this month in Paris. But Williams still began in impressive fashion on Tuesday, ripping second-serve returns with ruthless precision to take a 3-1 lead under the closed roof on Centre Court.

But while serving in the next game at 15-15, Williams slipped as she changed direction. After losing the point, she stopped for several seconds, staring down at the grass. She went on to lose her serve and then walked gingerly to her chair, where she was examined by a trainer.

Williams left the court for treatment and returned several minutes later, limping slightly. She resumed play, but struggled to move as Sasnovich held serve to make the score 3-3.

Williams, in obvious distress, began crying at the baseline as she prepared to start her next service game. Unable to push off, she missed her first serve, then put a low-velocity second serve in play and slapped a backhand winner as the crowd roared to encourage her.

But on the following point, Williams hit a forehand awkwardly into the net. The next point turned out to be the final one. She tried to shift direction during a baseline rally and cried out in pain as she fell forward onto the grass.

Coco Gauff, the rising 17-year-old American, was watching on television in the Wimbledon gym. She said she had to turn away from the screen. "It was hard for me to watch that," Gauff said. "I'm a big fan of her, even though I'm a competitor now. But she's the reason why I started to play tennis. It's hard to watch any player get injured, but especially her."

The chair umpire, Marija Cicak, climbed down from her post and was soon by Williams' side. They walked toward the net together, where Williams retired and shook the 100th-ranked Sasnovich's hand.

It was the second consecutive retirement on Centre Court. In the preceding match, Adrian Mannarino of France stopped play early in the fifth set against Roger Federer, an eight-time Wimbledon singles champion.

After gathering her belongings, Williams limped off Centre Court, her accreditation badge dangling from her hand, and performed one of her traditional pirouettes. But after a final wave to the crowd, she stumbled again as she reached the passageway behind the most famous court in tennis, where she last won the singles title in 2016. Though she stayed on her feet, she needed help to walk into the clubhouse.

Williams, 39, has been chasing a record-tying 24th Grand Slam singles title since returning to the tour in 2018 after the birth of her daughter, Olympia. Seeded sixth at Wimbledon, she was still considered a favourite for the title by many bookmakers, along with the world No 1, Ashleigh Barty.

"It's not like she lost a match," said Tracy Austin, a former No. 1. "She was winning and then one slip and minutes later she's out of the tournament. Everyone knows her opportunities are diminishing. Maybe we're all focusing too much on the record instead of celebrating what she has accomplished." NYTIMES