Wimbledon gives Serena Williams more time to recover for doubles

LONDON: Wimbledon organisers are allowing Serena Williams additional time to recover from a knee injury in the hope that she can still play in the women’s doubles alongside her sister Venus Williams, tournament director Jamie Baker said on Friday.

Serena, 44, was injured during her first-round singles loss to Australia’s Maya Joint on Tuesday in her return to singles competition after four years in retirement. Although the women’s doubles first round was scheduled for Thursday and Friday, the Williams sisters did not appear in either day’s order of play as Serena continues her recovery.

Baker said the pair remain in the draw and could begin their attempt for a seventh Wimbledon doubles title together on Saturday. Speaking to reporters, he said the tournament wanted to give Serena every possible chance to compete.

We are giving her as much time, obviously we want her to play if she possibly can

Baker also rejected the suggestion that delaying the sisters’ first match could disrupt the wider schedule later in the tournament. He said the designated match days are intended as a guideline aimed at ensuring the event finishes on time, but added that exceptions can be made in certain situations.

“In terms of the days, it's actually a guideline, that's what we're hoping to do based on trying to get the tournament finished”.

“There are actually sometimes exceptional circumstances, whether it's weather or injuries”, he stated.

“We wouldn't do that if we felt that it was putting the rest of the competition in any type of danger of putting it back”, he further stated.

Baker said crowd management and safety would play a major role in deciding which court would host the sisters’ match, given their global profile. Serena and Venus have won 30 Grand Slam singles titles between them and remain among the sport’s biggest attractions.

Serena’s singles defeat to Joint on Centre Court was her first singles match since the 2022 US Open. She lost in three sets after returning to the Wimbledon singles stage following her lengthy absence from the sport.