Serena Williams was forced to withdraw from her second-round doubles match today after Wimbleton doctors diagnosed her with a viral illness.
According to the Washington Post, Williams was doing a round of warm-ups for the doubles match when she had to return to her chair and doctors were called to attend her as she sat with her head in her hands and began to cry.
After a lengthy evaluation the Williams sisters returned to the court to begin the match against Germany’s Kristina Barrois and Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland but fell behind 0-2. Serena appeared to be dizzy, unable to properly see the court or serve and was forced to withdraw from the game.
Serena expressed her disapointment in a statement saying, “I am heartbroken I’m not able to continue in the tournament,” Williams said in a statement. “I thought I could rally this morning because I really wanted to compete, but this bug just got the best of me.”
Venus showed her support for her sister saying, “Unfortunately Serena has been feeling unwell for the past few days and she just couldn’t play to her potential today. I’m really proud of her for trying because we just love playing doubles together. We are looking forward to coming back to Wimbledon next year.”