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Serena Williams pulls out of Wimbledon due to injury

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 6/29/21

Serena Williams' pursuit of a 24th Grand Slam title will have to wait.

The legendary 39-year-old believed by many to be the greatest tennis player of all time retired from Tuesday's first-round Wimbledon match versus Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the opening set after slipping on the grass court and suffering some sort of injury. Williams attempted to play through the discomfort and was in tears as she waved goodbye to an adoring Wimbledon crowd potentially for the last time.

We're heartbroken for you, Serena.

Our seven-time singles champion is forced to retire from The Championships 2021 through injury#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/vpcW1UN78s
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 29, 2021

Williams is a seven-time champion at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and recently confirmed she will not play at the Tokyo Olympics later this summer.

"There's a lot of reasons that I made my Olympic decision," Williams explained. "I don't really want to — I don't feel like going into them today. Maybe another day. Sorry.

"I have not thought about it. In the past, [the Olympics] has been a wonderful place for me. I really haven't thought about it, so I'm going to keep not thinking about it."

Williams remains one Grand Slam behind Margaret Court for the all-time record.

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