Venus Williams said she was “killed by the grass” after suffering a nasty fall as her emotional Wimbledon return ended in Centre Court defeat to Elina Svitolina.
The 43-year-old, whose first outing at SW19 came in 1997, was absent from the singles draw last year but was handed a wild card into this year’s tournament.
However, the five-time champion did not make it past the opening afternoon as she went down 6-4 6-3 to the Ukrainian having been injured in the opening moments of the match.
She slipped approaching the net in the third game and fell to the ground, shrieking loudly in agony.
It looked like that may be the end of her afternoon, but she was able to carry on, though admitted she was in so much pain she could not focus on the match.
“Grass is inherently going to be slippery. You’re going to fall at some point. It was just bad luck for me,” she said.
“I started the match perfectly. I was literally killing it, then I got killed by the grass.
“It’s not fun right now. I felt like I was in great form coming into this tournament, and great form in the match.
“It’s all very shocking at the moment. This is sports. I’m hitting the ball well.
“Hopefully I can just figure out what’s happening with me and move forward.
“I think what makes this one hard to process is I’ve had so many injuries. I’ve been missing from tour for quite a while. This is not what I want for myself.
“This kind of fall, I didn’t do anything wrong. I just went for the ball. There’s nothing I can really do about it.
“Those kinds of things are hard to process emotionally, mentally and physically on the court.
“I just couldn’t figure it out today. It was just real challenging. I’ve played through a lot of injuries and won a lot of matches injured.
“It’s almost a specialty of mine. I just couldn’t figure it out today.”
It remains to be seen whether this will be her Wimbledon swansong, as it was for her sister Serena 12 months ago, but time is obviously ticking on one of the all-time great tennis careers.
Williams would not commit on whether she would be fit enough to play at the US Open later this summer.
She added: “I’ve got to figure out my next plan. Right now I’m kind of in shock. I just can’t believe this happened. It’s, like, bizarre. I don’t know. I’m still processing it at the moment.”
Svitolina, who is making a return of her own after missing last year’s tournament following the birth of her first child, proved she is still a top-class player and was not going to let Williams off lightly.
But she admits she was fearing the worst when the veteran was screaming in agony.
“She screamed really loud, I was shaken up,” she said. “I was really shocked in a way, because I thought it was really, really serious.
“So I was really happy for her actually that she could stand up after and didn’t take a medical timeout. She just was checking how the knee is. And then we continue playing.
“I was really happy, because it’s such a horrible injury, the knee injury. Any injury is bad, but, you know, she screamed really loud. So I really got scared.”
Sinner inspires comeback to help Italy reach Davis Cup semi-finals
Jannik Sinner kept Italy's hopes of retaining the Davis Cup alive after winning matches in the singles and doubles to inspire a 2-1 comeback triumph over Argentina on Thursday.
Sinner and Matteo Berrettini edged Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 6-4 7-5 in the deciding game to set up a rematch of last year's showpiece against Australia in the final four.
However, the Italians started off on the back foot when Francisco Cerundolo downed Olympic bronze medallist Lorenzo Musetti 6-4 6-1 in an hour and 29 minutes.
Musetti converted just two of the eight break points he was presented with, as Cerundolo put Argentina on the brink of reaching the semi-finals for the first time since 2016.
But two-time grand slam champion Sinner, who won the ATP Finals last weekend, carried his momentum forward from Turin against Sebastian Baez.
The world number one breezed to a 6-2 6-1 win over his opponent, serving seven aces to the Argentine's one, while also saving all four break points he faced.
Sinner then returned to the court alongside Berrettini, with the pair replacing Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the must-win clash.
The pair won 90% of their first-serve points and fended off all five break points they faced, earning a key break at 5-5 in the second set before surging to victory.
"It was a must-win match," said Sinner. "Very different conditions. The court is very, very fast and tough to play.
"I haven't had so much time to adapt to the conditions, but I'm happy about today."
Data Debrief: The Italian Job
Italy edged closer to becoming only the sixth nation to retain the Davis Cup since the final stage was introduced 52 years ago, and first since the Czech Republic in 2013.
But they were inspired by Sinner once again, who proved why he will end the year at the summit of the ATP rankings.
And after leading Italy to their first Davis Cup title since 1976 with a victory against Australia's Alex de Minaur last year, he will fancy his chances this time around.
Ebden and Thompson send Australia to third straight Davis Cup semi
Matthew Ebden and Jordan Thompson booked Australia's place in the Davis Cup semi-finals after the pair clinched their deciding match against the United States to win 2-1.
The pair, who won gold at the Paris Olympics, beat Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton 6-4 6-4 to put Lleyton Hewitt's side into their third successive semi-final at the men's team event.
Australia, who have won the tournament 28 times, largely had Thanasi Kokkinakis to thank after his remarkable triumph over Shelton in the first match of the day.
Kokkinakis saved four match points and let slip six of his own before eventually prevailing 6-1 4-6 7-6 (16-14) in an engrossing encounter that lasted two hours and 14 minutes.
However, in the rematch of a recent ATP Finals group-stage match, Taylor Fritz emerged victorious over Alex De Minaur as he did in Turin a week ago.
Despite De Minaur going 2-0 up in the second set, Fritz roared back to earn a 6-3 6-4 victory to send the tie the distance in Malaga.
But Australia held their nerve, and will discover their opponents later on Thursday when reigning champions Italy take on Argentina.
Ebden and Thompson’s win came after United States’ captain Bob Bryan opted for a late change, with Paul and Shelton replacing Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.
“We were expecting the other pair, but we knew they’ve got incredible players who can play doubles,” said Ebden.
“We were ready. A slight adjustment obviously. More huge serving singles players than the doubles craft, maybe, but it was just as big a challenge as any.
"Out here, finals live match, just to play with Jordan here was real fun. Following what Kokk did, unfortunately Alex went down, but what a day. So fun, so happy.”
Data Debrief: Australia ready to right Davis Cup wrongs
Australia have failed to win the Davis Cup since 2003, but they will be confident of halting that streak this time around.
If they take the trophy, they will have reason to thank Kokkinakis, whose tie-break win against Shelton was the longest an Australian player had featured in at the tournament, surpassing Pat Rafter's win over David Rikl in the 1997 quarter-finals of the competition (15-13).
Ebden and Thompson also shone when it mattered most, serving four aces compared to Paul and Shelton's two, while also winning 92% of their first-serve points.
Paolini and Bronzetti seal fifth Billie Jean King Cup for Italy
Victories for Jasmine Paolini and Lucia Bronzetti handed Italy their fifth Billie Jean King Cup title as they overcame Slovakia in Wednesday's final in Malaga.
Italy, who were beaten in last year's final by Canada, overcame Poland in the semi-finals on Monday as Paolini partnered Sara Errani for a decisive doubles win over world number two Iga Swiatek and Katarzyna Kawa.
The showpiece contest began with Bronzetti triumphing 6-2 6-4 against Viktoria Hruncakova, before Paolini took to the court to face Rebecca Sramkova.
The world number four – who won doubles gold at the Paris Olympics in August to cap her breakout year – eased past Sramkova by a 6-2 6-1 scoreline to ensure a doubles match was not required.
Speaking after Italy claimed the trophy for the first time since 2011, Bronzetti heaped praise upon her team-mate and revealed she had struggled to sleep before playing in front of 12-time grand slam champion King.
"Jasmine raised her level really high this year. She's an example for all of us," Bronzetti said.
Asked about King's presence in the crowd, Bronzetti added: "She is a great person, a great legend. I didn't sleep very well.
"You're not playing just for yourself. You're playing for your team and your country. We all want this trophy, and it is our dream, all Italians."
Data Debrief: Five-star Italy
Italy have claimed their fifth Billie Jean King Cup, having previously triumphed in 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2013.
Only the United States (18), Czechoslovakia/Czechia (11) and Australia (seven) have won more. Spain and Russia (also including the USSR and Russian Tennis Federation) have also tasted success five times.
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