Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images. Pictured: Serena Williams.
Serena Williams has bowed out of this year’s Wimbledon after suffering a leg injury in the first set of her first round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
Williams inadvertently slipped while serving up 3-1, level at 15-all. After Williams lost that game, she limped off the court to receive treatment on her leg before she returned.
The six-time Wimbledon winner started her first round match with her right thigh fully taped.
The match resumed and Sasnovich held serve to make it 3-3. Williams began service in the following game with tears in her eyes. Later in that game, she slipped again. That one forced her to retire.
She limped off the court to a standing ovation while clutching the back of her right thigh.
The grass court was slippery and wet throughout today’s matches. The match before between Roger Federer and Adrian Mannarino — played under the same Centre Court roof — ended in similar fashion. Mannarino was forced to retire tied two sets apiece after a violent slip.
Williams had previously been 19-0 in the first round of Wimbledon in her career, and was a -910 favorite at DraftKings to beat Sasnovich.
She had been the favorite or second-favorite to win her seventh Wimbledon prior to her injury. At DraftKings and FanDuel, the 39-year-old had the highest money and bet percentage to win.
DraftKings has already pledged to refund all futures bets made on Williams. Prior to the start of the tournament, she had been the sportsbook’s favorite at +650 to win.
It was not immediately clear as of Tuesday afternoon what the policy on Williams futures would be at other sportsbooks.
Naomi Osaka had been one of the favorites to win Wimbledon, too, before she decided earlier this month to bow out of the tournament for mental health reasons.
With both Williams and Osaka out of the tournament, expect new-favorite Ashleigh Barty’s futures to lengthen precipitously.
