Serena Williams blamed her early exit from Wimbledon on an illness. After appearing disoriented on the court, Williams left with what the referee's office called a "viral illness." Williams's half-sister, however, hinted illness may not be the actual reason for Williams retiring from Tuesday's match.
Williams made it through only three games on Tuesday in her doubles match against Kristina Barrois and Stefanie Voegle. She at first looked uneasy during warm-ups, even consulting with a doctor for 10 minutes before taking the court. During the match, she struggled just to hold onto her racket and recorded double faults on all four of her serves, according to USA Today Sports.
Williams consulted with the umpire and, along with sister and partner Venus, retired from the match trailing 0-3.
Wimbledon's official Twitter feed reported Serena was suffering from a "viral illness."
The word from the referee's office is that Serena Williams is suffering from a viral illness. #Wimbledon https://t.co/TmRAWfQjnD
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2014
"I am heartbroken I'm not able to continue in the tournament," Williams said in a statement more than two hours after the match, via USA Today Sports. "I thought I could rally this morning, because I really wanted to compete, but this bug just got the best of me. I want to thank my sister, Kristina, Stefanie and our teams for their support. We were all looking forward to a great match.
"From the bottom of my heart, I thank all of the fans for their cheers and understanding. I look forward to returning to Wimbledon next year."
While the official word was Williams retired because she was ill, William's half-sister, Isha Price, seemed to think otherwise.
"She seemed emotional, sad, you know what I mean?" Price said. "But before the match she was fine."
Williams was eliminated from singles competition on Saturday in a loss to Alize Cornet, leading at least one analyst to question whether Williams was putting on an act Tuesday.
"You can have reasons not to feel right on the court but nothing that would make you not be able to hold the ball in your hand or catch the ball after a bounce or throw the ball up," ESPN analyst Pam Shriver said. "You might hit four double faults in a row but you'd make contact. ...
"Is this a drama? Is this an act? If you're not well, you need to get help."
Compared with her dominant year in 2013, Williams has struggled this season. She was knocked out of the French Open in the second round and has only won three singles titles to date.
