Court officials talk to Serena Williams of the U.S as she and Venus Williams retire after 3 games from their women's doubles match against Kristina Barrois of Germany and Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland''
Wimbledon was host to dramatic scenes today as Serena Williams broke down on court and was forced to quit her doubles match with sister Venus after she was hit by a virus.
The tearful 32-year-old held her head in her hands as she was examined by medical staff ahead of the match.
The second-round doubles match against Kristina Barrois and Stefanie Voegele was put off for over 10 minutes while she sat in her sideline chair and appeared to wipe her eyes as her blood pressure was checked.
When it came for Serena to serve she could hardly bounce the ball. She then served four consecutive double faults as the sisters lost the third game of the match, prompting the end.
In scenes that were uncomfortable to watch on Court One, Serena was plainly not herself and her vision looked to be the root of the trouble as she wiped at her eyes''
Serena wipes her face as she sits talking to the doctor on court after being taken ill
The 17-times Grand Slam champion looked dazed, and playing as if she had never before picked up a racket.
Her following serves were all double-faulted – variously sent into the net and long – and at 0-40 to opponents Kristina Barrois and Stefanie Voegele umpire Kader Nouni came down off his chair to check on the 32-year-old’s fitness.
During the delay, one of the Williams' other sisters, along with Serena's agent and her hitting partner, left their seats in the stands.
Serena and Venus walked to the sideline holding hands, and Nouni announced to the crowd at No. 1 Court: 'Ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately, Miss Williams has to retire.'
Serena wiped away tears as she walked toward the court's exit.
Pam Shriver, working in her capacity as an ESPN analyst, was on court and said it was one of the stranger episodes she had seen.
'You can have reasons not to feel right on the court but nothing that would make you not be able to hold the ball in your hand or catch the ball after a bounce or throw the ball up,' Shriver said. 'You might hit four double faults in a row but you'd make contact.'
Shriver questioned: 'Is this a drama? Is this an act? If you're not well, you need to get help.'
Serena Williams uses a towel to wipe tears from her eyes after being taken sick before her doubles match'
At 3-0 behind the Williams sisters, who have won the Wimbledon doubles title five times, decided against taking the match any further.
In an emailed statement, Serena said: 'I really wanted to compete, but this bug just got the best of me.'
Williams added that she looks forward 'to returning to Wimbledon next year.'
Venus added: 'Unfortunately, Serena has been feeling unwell for the past few days and she just couldn't play to her potential today.
'I'm really proud of her for trying, because we just love playing doubles together.'
In her service game, the star was struggling to bounce the ball and keep it under any semblance of control, and the first two double faults at the beginning of her first service game highlighted the difficulties she was experiencing.
She was unable to clear the net at that point.
Serena appeared to be struggling throughout the match against Kristina Barrios of Germany and Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland''
The umpire speaks to the sisters during their doubles match on day nine of the Wimbledon Championships. Serena, who lost in the third round of singles Saturday, looked out of sorts from the moment the pre-match warmup began''
After it became clear that a tearful Serena could not carry on, the five-times Wimbledon doubles champions conceded''
The crowd cheered 'Come on Serena' but a third double followed and, although the 32-year-old had managed to get the ball into the opposite half of the court, her direction was all off.
She had earlier called for the trainer before the match began after struggling through the warm-up.
The American pair, who have each won five Wimbledon titles individually, were knocked out of the singles in the third round last week.
Struggling: The world number one looked visibly unwell during the pre-match hitting''
Static: Serena was virtually unable to move and looked extremely uncomfortable as the sisters went 3-0 behind''
Down and Out: Williams served four double faults, including several serves dumped into the net, before retiring''
Serena Williams touches her forehead and looks down shortly before being taken ill during the women's doubles''
During the warm up for the second round of doubles that Williams was due to play with her sister, she became unwell'' NAKUTAKIWA ALL THE BEST MY GIRL ''BE BLESS ALWAYS''
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