“I got killed by the grass,” Venus Williams expresses disappointment with Centre Court following the roof controversy, criticizes chair umpire’s call on match point
Venus shares her disappointment with her performance and shocking slip in early stages of match against Svitolina.
Follow Us
Venus Williams (Image Credits: Eurosport)
American tennis legend Venus Williams suffered a rough tumble during her Wimbledon round-one encounter against Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina. The incident happened in the early stages of the match when Venus rushed to the net to hit a volley. She, however, lost her footing while attempting to hit the ball and slipped on the grass, clutching her bandaged knee after the fall.
The fall understandably frightened fans and brought about injury concerns. Venus, however, went on to continue the match but ended up losing in straight sets to Svitolina with a final scoreline of 6- 4, 6-3.
The 43-year-old has won 5 titles at the All-England Club previously. She was hence given a wildcard this year to play in the main draw despite her ranking of 511.
She spoke in the post-match conference about the incident. The elder of the Williams sisters said,“Grass is inherently going to be slippery. You’re going to fall at some point. It was just bad luck for me. I started the match perfectly. I was literally killing it, then I got killed by the grass.”
Open roof conditions in previous match could have contributed to slippery surface
The match on the centre court, previous to the Williams-Svitolina match, was the men’s singles match between Novak Djokovic and Pedro Cachin. Despite light precipitation and even concerns about the completion of that match, play continued during the Djokovic – Cachin match with an open roof. This could have had some effect on dampening the surface, making it all the more slippery.
Venus went on to mention that she was in good spirits heading into the tournament and that she was confident about her form. The fall, however, seemed to have taken her momentum away. “It’s not fun right now. I felt like I was in great form coming into this tournament, and great form in the match. I’m hitting the ball well. Hopefully I can just figure out what’s happening with me and move forward,” she said.
It remains to be seen where Venus Williams will go next to participate; it is speculated that she could make her final appearance at the US Open this year.
On the other hand, Svitolina has made it to Round 2, and is set to face 28th seed Elise Mertens on 5th July.
In case you missed it:
- Wimbledon 2023: Order of play for Day 2, Tuesday, 4th July 2023, featuring Andy Murray, Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina
- WATCH: Novak Djokovic grabs a towel and dries the Center Court after Wimbledon authorities don’t close the roof
Stay Updated!
Ketan Kunkalikar
(129 Articles Published)