On an extremely slippery center court at Wimbledon this year, things aren’t looking bright for top players who will be scheduled to play there in the coming days at SW19. Serena Williams, who was in pursuit of her 24th grand slam title, had a quick lead of 3-1 in the first set against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, before calling the trainer after suffering a mild injury to her ankle.
Watch this story: Andy Murray, Nicholas Kyrgios, Johanna Konta, and Tomas Berdych Savagely Ripping Tennis Reporters at Wimbledon
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Even though she returned to the court after a few minutes, the American clearly looked in pain as she struggled to serve and fell down on-court, in tears. It was heart-breaking to see a champion, who gave so much to the sport, gave up on a match and retire mid-way.
The center court crowd took some time to grasp what just happened as most of them stayed in utter disbelief. Just like that, Serena Williams’ grass-court campaign came to an end in the most unfortunate manner.
Players, Fans react to the shock retirement of Serena Williams from Wimbledon
Post-match, there were empathetic reactions and encouragement for Serena as fans wished her a speedy comeback at the US Open. Along with tennis fans, players like Andy Murray and Roger Federer also reacted to this sudden retirement from the 23-time grand slam champion.
“Brutal for Serena Williams but centre court is extremely slippy out there. Not easy to move out there”,? tweeted the two-time Wimbledon champion.
Brutal for @serenawilliams but centre court is extremely slippy out there. Not easy to move out there.
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) June 29, 2021
After surviving a bizarre match against Adrian Mannarino, Roger Federer also opined that the court was extremely slippery in his post-match press conference. Also, the Swiss Maestro felt bad for Serena when he was informed about the unfortunate incident during his press.
Journalist: "Serena Williams retired after slipping."
Federer: "Oh my God, I can't believe it." 😥
— Luigi Gatto (@gigicat7_) June 29, 2021
Here is Federer’s version of the nature of Center court this year at SW19.
“The court feels a tad more slippery under the roof, I am moving more carefully, terrible that it’s back to back matches and it’s hit Serena as well”,?the Swiss Maestro mentioned in the press.
https://twitter.com/Mike_Dickson_DM/status/1409949879896621068?s=20
As Serena was walking off the court, she received a standing ovation from the crowd as they sent her off and hoping to see her on the same court next year.
Standing ovations for Serena Williams after she’s forced to retire from her Wimbledon R1 match. pic.twitter.com/h859ySsR1R
— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) June 29, 2021
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
The grounds persons at the Wimbledon Center court will have a question or two to answers owing to the dual debacles witnessed by fans in a single day. Even Novak Djokovic fell a couple of times during his first-round match against Jack Draper yesterday.
https://twitter.com/Hugh__Beasley/status/1409948897519312897?s=20
The Wimbledon Championships has already seen a lot of setbacks in the first couple of days itself. With the crowd filling all the courts, it’s going to be a remarkable turnout for the remaining days at the most prestigious grand slam of the year.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad