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Serena Williams' Coach: Star Still Awaiting Test Results on Leg Injury, Is Walking
July 2, 2021
Serena Williams' coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, provided an update Friday on the leg injury that forced her to withdraw during her first-round match at Wimbledon.
In an interview with Cedric Rouquette of TennisMajors.com, Mouratoglou couldn't provide many specifics other than to say that Williams is able to walk:
"We don't know for the moment; we are expecting the result of the clinical assessment. The manual test gave us an idea of the nature of the injury, not how serious it is. We're waiting to see how long she's supposed to be resting and, obviously, the consequences in terms of preparation for the next one [the US Open]. Time will fly. She's walking, which is a good sign, and it excludes very bad possibilities."
Williams slipped and fell during the opening set of her first-round Wimbledon match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, forcing her to retire from the match and the tournament with the score tied at 3-3.
The 39-year-old Williams is a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, but she hasn't added a Grand Slam title to her resume since the 2017 Australian Open, which was prior to the birth of her daughter in September 2017.
Serena has reached four Grand Slam finals and two additional semifinals since her last major title, but she has been unable to seal the deal.
Williams already has the most career Grand Slam singles titles in the Open Era, but she is one short of tying Margaret Court for the all-time record with 24.
Serena was in tears as she left the court after retiring from her match against Sasnovich, and Mouratoglou suggested it was because she doesn't know how many more times she will have the opportunity to compete at Wimbledon: "She'll be 40 soon; she doesn't know how many Wimbledons she will play in the future. Probably not that many, you can't be sure there will be another one. So many feelings going on in her head in a small amount of time."
Mouratoglou also expressed his belief that the emotions stemmed from Serena believing she was emotionally and physically ready to go on a deep run and potentially win the tournament this year:
"What she missed is what leads her to be Serena. I mean, refusing to lose and suddenly playing at another level in the crucial moments. For a couple of years now, my quest [has been] to understand why she couldn't rely on that anymore.
"Now I found it, and it was the day before the first round. Serena was ready to show it at Wimbledon. I know her by heart, she was that strong at the beginning of the match and she was ready to use what I consider as a superpower when needed."
Williams never got the opportunity to showcase that "superpower," and now her status for the upcoming U.S. Open is in doubt.
Serena already removed herself from Olympic consideration before Wimbledon started, meaning she will have some time to rest up and potentially get herself ready for the U.S. Open, which starts on Aug. 30.
Williams is a six-time U.S. Open champion, and if she is healthy enough to play in this year's tournament and win it, she will finally equal Court for the most all-time Grand Slam singles titles.