Serena Williams could MISS Wimbledon doubles match with sister Venus after 44-year-old

Serena Williams skipped press duties after her singles comeback defeat at Wimbledon due to a knee injury, it has emerged – throwing her participation in the doubles with sister Venus into doubt.

The 44-year-old played her first match on Centre Court in four years on Tuesday night and gave a tremendous account of herself before going down 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 to 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint. She then failed to turn up for post-match press, for reasons that went unexplained, until a statement from her team on Wednesday.

‘Serena tweaked her knee at the end of the first set and was therefore excused from her media obligations by the Wimbledon and WTA medical teams,’ a statement released to the Times read. ‘She left site that night unaided and is doing everything she can to be ready for her doubles match later this week.’

Serena is due to team up with Venus on Friday in the first round of the doubles, an event the sisters have won together six times. The Williams’ will play Argentine/Colombian pair Solana Sierra and Camila Osorio – if Serena is fit to take to the court.

As the media waited for Serena to appear on Tuesday night, an alert came through from the All England Club, saying: ‘Unfortunately Serena Williams will not be able to undertake media this evening. Please see below quotes from her:

Serena Williams’ team have hit back at ‘astounding’ criticism of the 44-year-old tennis star

Williams elected to skip her mandatory press conference after her match on Tuesday night

“It was really great to be back at Wimbledon. I never expected to be here. The atmosphere was amazing. Walking out was amazing. I definitely relished it and missed it and enjoyed the moment more than anything”.’

This set off a storm of social media criticism, with fans attacking Williams for skipping press, implying effectively that she had flounced off after a tough defeat.

But the wording of the announcement that Williams would be ‘not able’ to do media suggested something more concrete than a mere refusal. On Wednesday morning the All England Club confirmed to Daily Mail Sport that Serena would not face the usual fine of up to £37,000 for skipping media duties, which again implied there was a legitimate reason.

One of Serena’s coaches, former doubles world No1 Rennae Stubbs, cracked back at the social media critics, posting: ‘The hate and lack of empathy in this world is astounding to me. Especially when you have no idea what you’re talking about. Just blows my mind.’

Rumours of injury were floating around Wimbledon and just after noon that was confirmed.