London, Jun 30 (UNI): Serena Williams crashed out of Wimbledon 2021 after she was forced to retire from her first round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich due to an injury in her right leg .
The 23-time Grand Slam champion was leading Sasnovich by a break in the first set at 3-1, serving at 15-15, before she slipped briefly at the back of the court on Tuesday.
While Williams never fell to the ground, she requested the physio after losing serve in the game, and received an off-court medical timeout before returning to the court.
Upon resumption, Sasnovich held serve in the sixth game to level at 3-3, but the match ended shortly.
After losing her footing at the baseline once more at 15-15 on serve, Williams made the decision to retire and left Centre Court to a standing ovation in emotional scenes.
With her exit, Williams’s dreams of winning an eighth Wimbledon singles title and equalling Margaret Court’s Grand Slam record of 24 ended in tears.
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