LONDON (Reuters) - Tennis great Serena Williams limped out of Wimbledon in tears on Tuesday after her latest bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles crown ended in injury.
The American sixth seed and seven-times Wimbledon winner was clearly in pain on a slippery Centre Court and sought treatment while 3-2 up in her first round match against unseeded Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
Williams returned after a lengthy break but the distress was evident.
She grimaced and wiped away tears before preparing to serve at 3-3 after Sasnovich had pulled back from 3-1 down.
The 39-year-old, who had started the match with strapping on her right thigh, then let out a shriek and sank kneeling to the grass sobbing, before being helped off the court.