Serena texted Roddick "I'm not well" after bizarre Wimbledon retirement
LONDON -- The bizarre circumstances surrounding Serena Williams' sluggish and uncoordinated on-court behavior during her second-round doubles match at Wimbledon continue to be a major talking point around the All England Club.
Serena retires from Wimbledon doubles match in bizarre scene
Williams took the court on Tuesday with sister Venus looking physically unwell. She served four straight double faults, and then the team retired down 0-3 to Kristina Barrois and Stefanie Voegele. The official reason given for the retirement was a viral illness, but many, including Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, have speculated there may have been more to it.
Andy Roddick saw the incident and sent a text message to Serena out of concern, and she texted back saying she was "unwell."
"I grew up with Serena, so the first thing I'm thinking is, 'What is going on?' It's just crazy," Roddick said on the Fox Sports Live Podcast. "She looked really bad to the point where people were like, 'Get her off the court.' It took them three games, and in warm-ups she looked terrible. It was bad.
"I text Serena's agent. I'm just like, 'How is she, what's going on?' She's resting, which is good. I text Serena and thank God she texted me back. I would have felt worse if it was now and I still hadn't heard from her. I'd be a lot more worried. She said 'Andy, I'm just not well. We've done some tests, the doctors think it's a viral illness, they can't say it with any certainty. We did some tests and we'll know in a couple of days.' But for her to say, 'I'm just not well' is a big thing for her to say. Obviously, at the end she goes, 'I'll be OK,' and this that and the other.
"She supposed to be tough, that's what she is, so she doesn't like to show that vulnerability. Frankly, that's how she comes across in press conferences sometimes as aloof because she doesn't want to let that guard down. So for her to say, 'I'm not well right now' is a scary thing.
"You hope it is an illness and not something worse."
Serena on Wednesday posted a photo of herself on Instagram resting:
You can watch Roddick discuss the incident at the 24:30 mark below:
