Injured Victoria Mboko withdrew Thursday from the doubles competition at the HSBC Championships in London, ending — for now — the comeback of playing partner Serena Williams.
Mboko suffered a left knee injury Wednesday in her singles match against Karolina Pliskova at the Queen’s Club in London. Mboko, of Canada, grabbed at her knee after slipping on the grass and was forced to retire. The No. 3 singles seed, Mboko was trailing 6-2, 3-4 at the time, and her retirement sent Pliskova to the quarterfinals.
The 19-year-old Mboko and the legendary Williams won their opening match Tuesday, 7-6 (2), 6-2 against third-seeded Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe.
They were scheduled to face Leylah Fernandez and Laura Siegemund in the quarterfinals on Thursday night.
The 44-year-old Williams, who was playing in her first pro tournament in four years, is signed up to play next week at the Berlin Tennis Open. At Berlin, one of the final tune-ups before Wimbledon, she will partner with Karolina Muchova, who is ranked No. 10 in the world in singles play but is not known for her doubles prowess.
Williams has 23 titles in singles at Grand Slam events. Paired with her sister, Venus Williams, Serena won 14 Grand Slam and three Olympic championships in doubles.
–Field Level Media
