Venus Williams out of Wimbledon after screaming in agony from painful fall

Venus Williams crashed out of Wimbledon in straight sets to Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina – after crashing to the Centre Court grass in agony. The Grand Dame of SW19 screamed out in pain as she twisted to reach a volley in the third game and collapsed to the ground clutching her heavily-strapped right knee.

After treatment from the trainer she was able to continue but, with her movement restricted, went down 6-4, 6-3 in 92 minutes to the French Open quarterfinalist. It was a sad exit for the five-times Wimbledon champion who had strolled out to warm applause from a crowd grateful to be seeing the Williams tradition live on.

Serena’s final Wimbledon appearance last year ended in first round defeat to Harmony Tan so it was left to Big Sis – courtesy of a wildcard – to keep on flying the Williams flag. While the Williams family entourage was in place watching on, there was no Serena to support her yesterday. Pregnancy prevented her from flying over the United States which was a shame with the All England Club planning a Centre Court presentation in recognition of her career.

After rolling back the years at the Birmingham Classic, the 43-year-old surged into a 2-0 lead with an early break on Centre Court. But then, with Svitolina putting on the pressure in her next service game, came the incident which changed the course of the match. The umpire rushed to her aid as Williams lay on the ground grimacing and her concerned opponent looked on.

There were genuine concerns around Centre Court at that point about whether she would be able to continue but if there is one thing the presence of a 43-year-old in a Grand Slam tells you it is that she is no quitter. She received a warm ovation as she rose to carry on after treatment.

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A welcome ace from Williams brought a cry of “You’ve still got it Venus” but with her pre-match preference to shorten the points against her younger and more athletic opponent now a necessity, the error count mounted. Under pressure on every service game, she was broken in the fifth and although she engineered two break points as Svitolina served for the set she was unable to take them.

Further treatment followed between the sets but the scuttling Svitolina, who became a mum last October, came back out in ruthless mood. She broke in the first game and again in the fifth game as Williams double faulted. And although the American produced a late flash of defiance with a break of her own to roars of encouragement, Svitolina closed the match out with a successful baseline challenge.

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