Victoria Mboko’s knee injury ends Queen’s club doubles run with Serena Williams

Victoria Mboko will not play doubles with Serena Williams this week.

Following a knee injury, Mboko has officially withdrawn from a planned second-round matchup Thursday, June 11 with Williams at the HSBC Championships at the Queen’s Club in London.

On Wednesday, Mboko was forced to retire early from her match against Karolina Pliskova. The 19-year-old star was moving across the court to get to a forehand when she slipped and fell to the grass, immediately clutching her left knee. Mboko did not play another point. The match ended with Pliskova taking the first set 6-2, and Mboko up 4-3 in the second set.

“(Mboko) was improving as the match was going, so it would have been a nice match, but I wish her only the best. Of course, this is not the way we want to win, so hopefully she’s going to be fine for Wimbledon,” Pliskova said post-match.

Mboko’s early exit ended what looked to be a promising partnership with Williams.

On June 9, the pair defeated Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe in straight sets, 7-6, 6-2, during the first round of the HSBC Championships women’s doubles.

“What I liked most about her was that the next time she played, she still kept winning. So, it’s like, OK, I love that. You know, it reminded me a lot of myself,” Williams said of Mboko ahead of their June 9 match.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Victoria Mboko injury forces Queen’s Club withdrawal with Serena Williams