Is the Williams sisters' comeback in jeopardy?

One of the most anticipated and widely covered sports stories of the year may not come to pass. The return of Serena and Venus Williams as a team in the women’s doubles tournament at Wimbledon could be in jeopardy due to an unexpected setback.

Serena, the younger of the most famous sisters in sports history, suffered a knee sprain while competing in the first round of the women’s singles draw at the British Grand Slam.

This situation could affect the Williams sisters’ return as a doubles team, even though Serena and her agent, Jill Smoller, stated that they will fight to make that happen.

“I twisted my knee at the end of the first set, but I’ll do everything I can to be ready for the doubles tournament,” Serena said after losing to Australia’s Maya Joint in three sets (6-3, 6-7, 6-3).

“She was able to leave the venue on Tuesday night without assistance and is doing everything she can to be ready to play doubles later this week,” Smoller said of her client.

A few days before Wimbledon began, the Williams sisters accepted the "wild card"—a special invitation for players who, due to a lack of recent activity, do not have a high enough ranking to qualify automatically—granted to them by the organizers of the British Grand Slam.

The last time the Williams sisters played together was in September 2022, when they made their farewell appearance at the U.S. Open.