Venus Williams at Wimbledon 2023: did former champion fall at Grand Slam? First round results, net worth and age

Venus Williams was knocked out of Wimbledon in the first round in straight sets after losing 6-4 6-3 to Ukraine’s Elinia Svitolina.

The 43-year-old slipped early in the fixture and many feared she would have to retire injured. Williams started the match with heavy strapping on her right knee and pulled out, letting out a devastating scream when she fell on the grass.

However, in her 24th Open era appearance in the Wimbledon singles event, Williams continued but was unable to overcome the 2019 semi-finalist. Williams has now failed to make it past the third round of the Championship for five years, since her shocking entry in the 2017 final as a 37-year-old.

Speaking after the match, the seven-time Grand Slam winner said: “Yeah 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.

“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.”

Has Venus Williams ever won Wimbledon?

Williams has five Wimbledon Championship trophies to her name, last winning the tournament back in 2008. Only Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Venus’s sister Serena have won the Grand Slam more than Venus.

She first won in 2000, three years after her first appearance at the Slam, and beating her sister en route to the final where she defeated fellow American Lindsay Davenport. Williams then secured a second straight win, beating Justine Henin in the final.

Serena denied Venus consecutive finals in 2002 and 2003 before a shock loss to Karoline Sprem ended hopes of reaching a fifth straight final. However, in 2005, Venus secured a win over Davenport once again, saving a match point and she went on to beat Marion Bartoli in 2007.

Venus then finally got revenge over her sister in 2008, taking the title and winning her fifth Wimbledon trophy overall.

When will Venus Williams retire?

The 43-year-old has no plans to retire any time soon and is instead hoping to chase more records with a possibility of playing into her 50s. Speaking ahead of Wimbledon 2023, the five-time winner said: “It’s never been done before so if there was one to try it, it would be me.

“There are really great insurance benefits on tour. I need those so I figure I may as well keep going! Tennis is something I have done my entire life. I’ve reached a level very few have achieved so there is always appreciation because of it. I walked out at the start with zero experience. Now I have so much more.

“The pleasure starts with training. If you can’t enjoy that, you’ve never going to enjoy the match.”