Venus Williams rocked amid 'awful' scenes at Wimbledon: 'Sad to see'

Five-time champion Venus Williams has bowed out of the first round at Wimbledon in straight sets after a nasty incident that saw her scream out in agony against Elina Svitolina. The American tennis legend, 43, was unable to go on another fairytale run at the All England Club as she succumbed to the Ukrainian star, 6-4, 6-3 on the opening day on Centre Court.

Williams looked in impressive form early on as she jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening stanza before disaster struck. Moving forward to attempt a volley, Williams slipped on the grass after her right foot gave way and let out a scream in agony as she collapsed to the court.

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The seven-time major winner was clutching at her right knee - which was already covered by a sleeve. Williams was able to keep playing but her movement appeared limited throughout the rest of the contest as Svitolina took full advantage.

Williams was twice treated by a trainer and had her right knee taped up during a medical timeout after the first set but despite her determination and the will of the Centre Court crowd, she was unable to overcome the 2019 Wimbledon semi-finalist. The American earned the praise of the tennis world though, despite many being rocked by her nasty first set mishap.

Venus Williams opens up about devastating incident

“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 after the match. “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.”

Williams, a former No. 1 now ranked outside the Top 500 after a series of injuries that limited her to 22 matches since the start of 2021, was the oldest player in this year’s field and the fourth-oldest to compete in the main draw at Wimbledon.

“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,” Williams said at her news conference, more than an hour after the match ended. “What makes this one hard to process is that I've had so many injuries. ... This is not what I want for myself.”

Iga Swiatek impresses, Coco Gauff bundled out

In other women's matches, World No.1 Iga Swiatek cruised into the second round with a 6-1 6-3 demolition of China's Zhu Lin. Swiatek is attempting to claim the first grass-court grand slam title of her career.

America's seventh seed Coco Gauff was one of the biggest casualties on the opening day - bundled out by compatriot Sofia Kenin 6-4 4-6 6-2. Incredibly, it was Kenin's first victory in a grand slam match since 2021 and arguably her best performance since winning the Australian Open in 2020.

Two-time major winner Victoria Azarenka held off China's Yuan Yue in a tight match to secure a 6-4 5-7 6-4 win and advance to the second round. Fifth seed Caroline Garcia overcame the elements and a lively opponent to reach the second round beating American Katie Volynets 6-4 6-3 in a match interrupted by drizzle.

American fourth seed Jessica Pegula overcame a second-set wobble to beat compatriot Lauren Davis 6-2 6-7(8) 6-3. Russian Liudmila Samsonova did not have the best return to Wimbledon as the 15th seed went out 7-6 (1) 7-6 (4) to Ana Bogdan.

with agencies

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