Serena Williams ’ return to tennis has been cut short after her doubles partner suffered a knee injury, forcing her to withdraw from her Eastbourne semi-finals later on Thursday, June 23.
Williams, 40, will now concentrate on preparing for Wimbledon, where she has been awarded a wild card.
Williams and Tunisian Jabeur made it through to the semi-finals with a narrow victory over Maria Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo and then a more convincing one against Shuko Aoyama and Chan Hao-ching.
But the American will now turn her attention to a much greater test at the All England Club, where she has taken a wild card into the women’s singles as she continues her pursuit of a record-equalling 24th grand slam title.
Speaking after Wednesday’s match, Williams said: ‘I feel good. As good as one can feel after having such a long time off.
‘I was telling Ons, this was a really good match and the second set in particular, they played really well, but we were able to just play different circumstances.
‘It was actually good match play and match practice, which is exactly what I needed and what I wanted to do coming here, so I couldn’t have asked for more.’
Williams, who is unseeded at Wimbledon, will find out who she faces in the first round when the draw is made on Friday morning.
She has won the singles title seven times at Wimbledon, most recently in 2016.
