Horrifying Fall and Tears: Serena Williams Suffers Devastating Blow as Partner Victoria Mboko Retires

Just one day after sharing the court with Serena Williams, the tennis legend’s doubles partner Victoria Mboko has retired from her singles match in tears. The development has cast a doubt on Williams’ campaign at the Queen’s Club.

Mboko suffered a horrifying fall after slipping on the grass mid-match. She was scheduled to take the court with Williams on Thursday for their quarterfinal.

Victoria Mboko Injured a Day After First Match With Serena Williams at the Queen’s Club

Williams returned to competition nearly four years after hanging up her racket. She chose 19-year-old Canadian Mboko as her first partner after accepting a doubles wildcard at the WTA 500 event at the Queen’s Club.

The pair opened their run on Tuesday with a notable 7-6(2), 6-2 win against No. 3 seeds Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez. They thus book their place in the quarterfinals against Leylah Fernandez and Laura Siegemund.

While Williams opted to compete only in doubles, Mboko was seeded third in singles. She took on former World No. 1 Karolína Plíšková in her first match on Wednesday. Plíšková, a former Wimbledon finalist, started with a 6-4 lead. At 4-3 in the second set, Mboko slipped and dramatically fell on her knees. She was in tears as the medical staff assessed her courtside before her retirement.

The injury makes Mboko’s doubles appearance with Williams unlikely. The teenager was thrilled to have the opportunity to take the court with the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion. After their first match, she said, “Even knowing I could play with Serena, that was very — I’m so grateful. I don’t play that much doubles, but sharing the court, I think I can learn a lot, even though we’re still competing. If anything, I just had so much fun today. I feel like we complemented each other on the court very well.”

“I just really liked our attitude on court. We had the same mentality. That’s what I always look for in a partner. I just was enjoying myself,” Mboko added.

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Williams has more tournaments lined up after the Queen’s Club event. She has also received a doubles wildcard at the WTA 500 event in Berlin next week (June 13-21). According to reports, the American plans to compete with Karolína Muchová as her partner.