A mystery illness has taken Serena Williams out of the game at Wimbledon.
The tennis champ was devastated to check out of the competition early after suffering symptoms that left her disoriented on the court.
According to ABC News, Serena was showing signs of trouble early on as she had a hard time handling the ball during warm ups for her doubles match today. Supposedly, she was having difficulty bouncing, catching, and serving. Serena wound up double faulting four times in a row; eventually she had to quit after just three games.
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Serena almost didn’t make it onto the court this morning as she consulted with Wimbledon medics just moments before the match began. Despite being under the weather, she opted to play anyway.
#Serena consulting a tournament doctor after the warm-up in her doubles w/#Venus vs Barrois/Voegele #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/tDaeGeaJOw
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2014
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Spectators couldn’t tell what was wrong with Serena, but fans definitely knew something was off as she fumbled through the doubles match. It was an unexpected showing for Serena, who won the U.S. Open last fall. Serena, a five-time Wimbledon champ, was clearly heartbroken as she exited the court with her sister Venus Williams at her side. The pair were down 0-3 in their match before Serena was sidelined.
Wimbledon officials later informed fans that Serena was suffering from a viral illness, but they didn’t specifically state what it is. She issued a statement, explaining, “I thought I could rally this morning, because I really wanted to compete, but this bug just got the best of me.”
WATCH: A game of double faults from Serena & she & sister Venus retire from their doubles match. #Wimbledon http://t.co/nL6o6h2fE7
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2014
Serena fully intends to come back for the tournament next year.
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Serena Williams Drops Out of Wimbledon Due To Virus was originally published on hellobeautiful.com