Doubles dream dies at Queen’s for Serena

The comeback dream of Serena Williams was handed a fatal blow with teenaged partner Victoria Mboko pulling up lame after a fall in singles which forced her retirement.

The Canadian went down with a knee injury, which rules her out as the Wimbledon run-up tightens. 

The doubles flop left the 44-year-old out of commission this week in a rain-hit Queen’s club.

The veteran who played her previous last Tour match in 2022, is now only able to look forward to another doubles go next week in Berlin, reportedly alongside Czech Karolina Muchova..

Williams was “retired” during the period in which the London club venue was added to the WTA calendar, 

She and Mboko won their opening doubles match on Tuesday but were unable to progress further due to the circumstances.

 The Williams pairing was to have played Canadian Leylah Fernandez and German Laura Siegemund in the second round with the Canadian/German team reaching the semi-finals, 

Mother of two Williams, winner of 23 Grand Slam singles titles, has hinted all week that she is not considering a run in singles.

“Every tournament I add to my schedule right now feels special, and Berlin is no exception,” she said.

“I’m excited to compete in front of the German fans and continue building momentum throughout the grass-court season.”

Wimbledon doubles also remains a question mark: “It’s just a day at a time. I still have a little time to decide, and they have been great about giving me that space and time to ⁠decide.”

Main photo:- Serena Williams in action in the first round at Queens – by Mark Greenwood/ISF Ltd