Tennis legendary Venus William lost her first round at Wimbledon on Monday. The loss follow her fall which resulted in a leg injury mid-match.
Williams walked off Wimbledon’s Centre Court following her 6-4, 6-3 loss to Elina Svitolina. The star received a standing ovation and “We love you, Venus” screams could be heard throughout the stadium, according to ESPN.
According to reports William had already suffered a medical timeout from her first set in the match. After her fall mid-match, she “shrieked and clutched at her right knee, which already was covered by a beige sleeve.”
“I’m not sure what I’ve done. I’m going to have to investigate it tomorrow. It’s late today. But it was quite painful,” Williams said at a press conference after the match, per ESPN. “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. And then I got killed by the grass.”
“Right now, I’m kind of in shock. I can’t believe this happened. It’s bizarre. I’m still processing it at the moment,” continued Williams. “What makes this one hard to process is that I’ve had so many injuries. … This is not what I want for myself.”
The 2019 Wimbledon semi-finalist, Svitolina who was playing against Williams said, “It’s always a pleasure to play against Venus,” the 28-year-old player said per ESPN, adding that Williams is a “big legend.”
“Grass takes a lot out of the legs and you have to bend your legs to get to all these shots,” noted Svitolina. “Venus plays really quick and I had to really work hard for today’s win.”
This match was Williams’ 24th time playing at Wimbledon and has won seven Grand Slam singles titles. And 24 double titles.
Main Image: Venus Williams| PA