Venus Williams might have played her final Wimbledon match as the legend lost to Elina Svitolina in the opening round.
Venus Williams returned to tennis in Australia earlier this year but the joy of playing tennis lasted very little. As was the case in years before, she quickly picked up an injury forcing her to miss multiple months. Venus teased her comeback in the leadup to the grass season and finally appeared on a tennis court at the Libema Open.
She wasn't alone as Serena Williams accompanied her on that trip though it was a short one. Spending some time in Amsterdam after her loss, Venus made her way to Birmingham where she played a fabulous match to earn her first win since January on the WTA Tour. It was an impressive showing from the veteran though not without drama as Venus tumbled to injure herself once more.
A hampered Venus wasn't able to win her next match making her way to London where the draw put her up against Elina Svitolina. It was a tough draw for the legend who did start that match rather well. She looked very comfortable but then slipped once more aggravating an already existing knee problem.
Grass is inherently going to be slippery. 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 (laughter).
The American kept battling but the younger Svitolina was able to exploit a clear advantage in the matchup. She was able to move Williams around and eventually the American simply ran out of steam. Unfortunate ending for Williams, quite literally, but she's looking forward to the future.
Yeah, 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. I'm hitting the ball well. Hopefully I can just figure out what's happening with me and move forward.