Serena Williams could not hold back the tears this afternoon in London. The tennis legend had to leave her match against Aliaksandra Stanovich after she slipped and fell on the grass-court while trying to change directions. Unfortunately for Serena, the injury looks pretty serious. Also, she was not the only player today that had an issue on the court that resulted in injury.
What followed though as she left the court was certainly one of the more moving scenes of the year in sports. As a tearful Serena got a standing ovation from the crowd!
The Scary Moment
As Stanovich is returning Serena’s shot a scream could be heard throughout the whole stadium and on T.V. Serena tries to shift her weight and start running towards her left. As she tries to do this she slips and just falls forward. In the replay from the back angle behind Williams, we can clearly see that her right kind of turns in on her.
That last sequence is what ultimately forced her to retire. In reality, though she slipped a couple of times before in the match. It seemed that she had more and more trouble walking as the game went along.
Getting A Standing Ovation
Serena would fall to the ground for the last time in the sequence that was just described. At that point, she just had had enough. She was helped off to the sidelines and almost immediately she starts collecting her things. This is when people realize that this is going to be it for her. The crowd just erupts in a standing ovation as Serena leaves the court.
Serena is in the hunt for her 24th grand slam title. It seems that the title will continue to elude her at least for a little while longer.
Giving An Update On The Injury
Clavecin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Although she did not necessarily give a medical update on her status Serena has since taken to social media to talk about the incident. She mainly took the time to thank the fans and the staff at the venue that tended to her in this situation. Writing a caption that reads,
“I was heartbroken to have to withdraw today after injuring my right leg. My love and gratitude are with the fans and the team who make being on centre court so meaningful.”
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Fans Are Outraged At Court Conditions
The grass courts at Wimbledon are without a doubt the most famous venue in the world when it comes to tennis. They may be legendary, but currently, they are in terrible conditions. Player Adrian Mannarino was playing another tennis legend Roger Federer on the same court.
Mannarino had the same problem Serena faced. As he slipped and fell on the court ultimately sustaining a keen injury. In exactly the same fashion as Serena he tried to play through it, but ultimately had to withdraw from the match!
Roger Federer advances to the second round of #Wimbledon after Adrian Mannarino went down with an apparent knee injury.
Mannarino tried to continue, but ultimately had to retire. pic.twitter.com/AlAZqK4Xb6
— ESPN (@espn) June 29, 2021
