Victoria Mboko Wimbledon withdrawal ended Queen's doubles run after she fell in her singles match on Wednesday and retired with a left knee injury. The Canadian's exit also stopped the Serena Williams partnership that had won its opening match and had been due back on court Thursday.
Mboko Falls Against Pliskova
Mboko retired while trailing 6-2 3-4 against Karolina Pliskova after crying out in pain and clutching her knee on the way down. She limped off the court in tears, and the withdrawal followed soon after.
The injury came after Mboko and Williams had opened their Queen's campaign with a 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 win over Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez. Williams had returned to tennis on Tuesday after almost four years away, and the pair had been set for a quarter-final on Thursday before Mboko's withdrawal ended the run.
Williams Loses Her Partner
Serena Williams responded after Mboko's exit with two messages of support: "What a fun and memorable week at the HSBC Championships. Thank you to everyone who made it so special," and "Vicky Mboko, you're an incredible talent and you'll be back out there in no time."
Leylah Fernandez and Laura Siegemund advanced to the semi-finals after Mboko withdrew, leaving that side of the draw settled without the Williams-Mboko pairing. Williams has signed up to play doubles in Berlin next week, with The Times reporting that she will team up with Czech Karolina Muchova there.
Queen's To Wimbledon
The wider concern now sits with Wimbledon, which starts on 29 June. Mboko's injury was not yet fully detailed, but there were already concerns that she could miss the tournament.
Wimbledon's wildcard committee will meet next Tuesday to decide which players to invite into the main draw, while Williams has not yet publicly indicated whether she wishes to play at Wimbledon. For Mboko, the next step is not a scoreboard but a race against the calendar after a fall that changed Queen's in one rally.
