LONDON — Serena Williams pulled out of her Wimbledon doubles match with sister Venus after only three games Tuesday.
Serena, who lost in singles Saturday, was checked by medical staff before the doubles match even began. Sitting in her sideline chair, Serena covered her face with her hands.
Eventually, the match against Kristina Barrois and Stefanie Voegele began. With Serena serving in the third game, she was broken at love, hitting faults that bounced before reaching the net.
At love-40, chair umpire Kader Nouni took the unusual step of climbing down and walking over to speak to Serena. She then served another double-fault to trail 3-0.
After playing three games in their doubles match, Venus and Serena withdraw from the tournament. #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/MTyw1mmlh1— ESPNTennis (@ESPNTennis) July 1, 2014
Serena and Venus walked to the sideline holding hands, and Nouni announced to the crowd: "Ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately, Miss Williams has to retire."
The word from the referee's office is that Serena Williams is suffering from a viral illness. #Wimbledon http://t.co/TmRAWfQjnD— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2014
The Wimbleon referee's office later announced that Serena was suffering from a "viral illness."
Tennis watchers expressed concern for the athlete on social media, many accompanied by videos showing that Williams was clearly struggling.
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