Venus Williams Discusses ‘Painful’ Injury Suffered During Wimbledon Loss

After enduring a devastating opening-round Wimbledon loss on Monday, Venus Williams spoke candidly about a frightening knee injury she sustained early in her loss to Elina Svitolina.

Competing in a historic 24th appearance on Centre Court, Williams, 43, seized early control over Svitolina, 28, only to fall behind after slipping at the net while attempting a backhand volley during the third game. Williams screamed in pain after tweaking her already bandaged right knee on the fall but managed to play through her injury after two medical timeouts and eventually fell 6–4, 6–3.

After leaving the court to a standing ovation, Williams, who led 2–0 through the first set prior to her injury, told reporters she was set for an evaluation after admitting it was still unclear what happened to her knee.

“I’m not sure what I’ve done,” Williams said, per NBC Sports. “I have to investigate it tomorrow, but it was quite painful. … It was very hard to focus on what I was doing.”

Monday’s finish marked a bitter end to a historic day for Williams, whose 24 main draw appearances surpassed Martina Navratilova (23) for the most in the Open era (since 1968).

The highly-decorated tennis superstar went on to say she believed she “started the match perfectly” and was in “great form coming into this tournament.” Williams, a five-time champion at the All England Club, earned a wild-card entry on June 21.

With her latest showing now in the books, the idea of joining sister Serena in retirement will likely follow Williams in the coming months given her experience and injury history. But, while the extent of her injury remains unknown, Williams still left the door open for her to continue playing despite Wimbledon being her first Grand Slam since last year’s U.S. Open.

When asked if she’ll play at the U.S. Open in August, Williams said she had “to figure out my next plan” before admitting she was still “in shock” over Monday’s loss. The seven-time Grand Slam champion also appeared to be intrigued while addressing whether or not she could see herself on the WTA tour at age 50–her would-be 36th year as a pro.

“It’s never been done before, so if there was one to try it, it would be me,” Williams said.