After the surprising defeat suffered last Saturday in the fourth round of the singles tournament, Serena Williams (photo ©Emmett Anderson) was hoping to win at least the doubles tournament with her sister Venus. Yesterday, however, she tried to play against Stefanie Voegele and Kristina Barrois but had to withdraw after only three games because she could barely stand. According to the official announcement, she contracted a virus.

It was clear That there was something wrong since the warm-up that preceded yesterday’s match. Serena Williams was struggling to even hit the balls that her opponents sent her at low speed and she was moving awkwardly. Before the match, the doctor measured her pressure and Serena even burst into tears. Nevertheless, she wanted to try to play.

Serena Williams’s conditions appeared really bad when she had to serve. The player with the most dominant service around made four double faults with attempts that showed all her problems. In fact, the player had no sense of aim and it happened that a service hit the ground a few meters before the net and another almost reached the baseline.

After the third double fault, chair umpire Kader Nouni, one of the best around, went to talk with the Williams sisters. It was clear that Serena couldn’t play and after the fourth double fault Venus took her sister’s hand and their withdrawal was announced.

Serena Williams’s situation seemed even more worrying considering the serious health problems she had in recent years. A few hours after Williams sisters’ withdrawal an official statement was issue in which it was stated that Serena is suffering from a virus that weakened her.

In these cases, there are always voices and various inferences. Patrick Mouratoglou, Serena Williams’s coach, said he hasn’t seen her in the last two days and doesn’t know what’s wrong with her. That’s puzzling because the two of them are also linked romantically. For this reason, Mouratoglou’s statement sparked several gossips.

In such situations it’s difficult to tell the truth from gossip. We can only wait to see Serena Williams on a tennis court again and if Patrick Mouratoglou will still be at her side in hope we can understand something more.

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