Serena Williams' Comeback Cut Short by Injury Withdrawal

Serena Williams' attempt to make a comeback in tennis faced an early end when her doubles partner, Victoria Mboko, withdrew from the Queen's Club tournament due to a left knee injury. Mboko suffered the injury during a singles match against Karolina Pliskova and could not recover in time for their scheduled quarter-final match against Leylah Fernandez and Laura Siegemund.

The tournament organizers confirmed her withdrawal, leaving Williams to contemplate her next steps, including a potential appearance at the Berlin Open doubles next week alongside Karolina Muchova. Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, had returned to competitive play for the first time in four years, winning her first match against Nicol Melichar and Erin Routliff.

She expressed a desire to play in front of her daughter, Olympia. Williams has not ruled out participating in Wimbledon but will need a wildcard to enter, as she is not currently ranked high enough for automatic entry.

Wimbledon chief executive Salli Bolton stated that a decision regarding her wildcard request would be communicated next week.