Wimbledon giving Serena ‘as much time’ as possible for doubles

LONDON: Wimbledon organisers are giving Serena Williams “as much time” as possible to get fit to play the doubles event alongside sister Venus, tournament director Jamie Baker said on Friday.

Serena, 44, suffered a knee injury during a Wimbledon first round defeat against Maya Joint on Tuesday in her return to singles action after four years in retirement.

The women’s doubles first round was scheduled for Thursday and Friday, but the Williams sisters were notably absent from both orders of play as Serena battles to recover from the injury.

But Baker confirmed that they are still in the draw and could start their bid for a seventh Wimbledon doubles crown together on Saturday.

“We are giving her as much time, obviously we want her to play if she possibly can,” Baker told reporters, denying that delaying the sisters’ entry could cause scheduling issues later in the fortnight.

“In terms of the days, it’s actually a guideline, that’s what we’re hoping to do based on trying to get the tournament finished.

“There are actually sometimes exceptional circumstances, whether it’s weather or injuries.

“We wouldn’t do that if we felt that it was putting the rest of the competition in any type of danger of putting it back.”

Baker said “numbers of people and safety” would be a “huge consideration” when deciding on which court Serena and Venus, who have won 30 Grand Slam singles titles between them, would play.

“Serena and Venus, they’re massive global stars, so there’s a lot of people who want to see,” he said.

Serena lost her first singles match since the 2022 US Open in three sets to Australia’s Joint on Centre Court.