There was a scary moment on Wimbledon’s Centre Court on Monday afternoon, local time, as five-time champion Venus Williams fell to the ground with a scream of pain.
The incident happened less than 15 minutes into the first set of Williams’ first round loss at the hands of Ukrainian Elina Svitolina.
Williams was leading 2-0, having broken serve, but was down a break point when she reached for a volley at the net.
Svitolina won the point, but that was the smallest concern on court. As she lunged, Williams screamed in pain and fell to the ground, where she lay for the next 40 seconds in clear distress. The umpire and Svitolina both immediately rushed to her aid.
For a moment, it seemed as though she might not be able to continue, but Williams eventually rose off the ground and walked gingerly to her seat, where she was seen by a trainer.
She then played on, though her mobility appeared to be limited. The crowd was extremely supportive, giving her a warm ovation.
“Take your time, Venus!” one spectator shouted.
“One point at a time, V,” said another.
Svitolina subsequently broke Williams’ serve again to go up 3-2, with a break. But Williams continued to fight through her pain, and managed to fend off a set point at 3-4 down.
It wasn’t enough to stop Svitolina from serving out the set, 6-4. The Ukrainian showed her own steel, surviving two break points in the decisive game.
With Williams struggling physically, and the trainer restrapping her knee, the result seemed inevitable – even more so when Svitolina went up two breaks in the second set. But Williams, true to type, managed to pull one of them back before the end.
She was farewelled with a standing ovation.
The crowd’s warm reception came despite Williams snubbing the chair umpire after the shake of hands with Svitolina. The final point of the match was decided on a video referral — something that clearly irked Williams.
“I completely disagreed with the call,” Williams said afterwards. “It was just that kind of day.”
However, Williams was able to smile about the whole affair when fronting the press after the match.
The American, who said she did not know the extent of her injury, was sanguine after her defeat.
“Grass is inherently going to be slippery,” she said. “You’re going to fall at some point. It was just bad luck for me.
“I started the match perfectly. I was literally killing it, then I got killed by the grass.
“It’s not fun right now. I felt like I was in great form coming into this tournament, and great form in the match. It’s all very shocking at the moment. This is sports.”
Williams, 43, won her first Wimbledon title in 2000 and added four more by 2008. She made another incredible run to the final of the tournament in 2017, losing to Spanish star Garbine Muguruza.
Her appearance at this year’s event came amid speculation that it may be her last – though Williams herself has brushed off the idea. Ahead of her match against Svitolina, she quipped that she could keep playing into her fifties.
“It’s never been done before, so if there was one to try it, it would be me,” she said.
“There are really great insurance benefits on tour! I need those, so I figure I may as well keep going.
“Tennis is something I have done my entire life. I’ve reached a level very few have achieved, so there is always appreciation because of it. I walked out at the start with zero experience. Now I have so much more.”
Williams has been plagued by injuries in recent years, and took the better part of six months off after playing in New Zealand in January. Her world ranking currently stands at 554, which is in fact significantly higher than it was at one stage last year, when she dropped out of the top thousand.
“I haven’t played a lot of matches in the last few years, and not by choice,” she recently explained, adding that her injury woes were “a nightmare” and involved “a terribly difficult rehab” process.
“I wanted to be playing and I couldn’t. I put my head down and put even more work in and got myself in a much better position.”
Williams’ exit removes one former champion from the women’s draw. Here are other major results from the first day of play:
World number one Iga Swiatek, who has never made it past the fourth round at Wimbledon, beat Lin Zhu 6-1 6-3.
China’s Xinyu Wang beat Australian Storm Hunter 6-3 6-1.
Fifth seed Caroline Garcia beat American Katie Volynets 6-4 6-3.
11th seed Daria Kasatkina beat Caroline Dolehide 6-1 6-4.
12th seed Veronika Kudermetova defeated Kaia Kanepi 7-6 6-4.
14th seed Belinda Bencic defeated Britain’s Katie Swan 7-5 6-2.
19th seed Victoria Azarenka beat Yue Yuan 6-4 5-7 6-4.
Jodie Burrage, of Britain, beat American Katie McNally 6-1 6-3.
France’s Diane Parry beat another Brit, Harriet Dart, 6-7 6-0 6-4.