Coco Gauff says she could not bring herself to watch Serena Williams’ emotional first-round exit at Wimbledon after the 23-time Grand Slam winner was forced to retire through injury.
The American tennis superstar started her match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich well but rolled her ankle on the slippery Centre Court grass while serving, requiring a medical timeout before bravely trying to continue.
But her movement was severely limited and tears were welling up in her eyes, eventually slumping to her knees in the seventh game before telling the umpire she had to concede.
Gauff had sailed through her own first-round match against Francesca Jones shortly beforehand and was very sad to see her idol in such distress, wishing Serena a speedy recovery.
‘It was not easy to watch. Actually I turned away,’ said Gauff at her post-match interview.
Coco Gauff slips on the grass during her first round ladies’ singles match against Francesca Jones on court 2 on day two of Wimbledon at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon. Picture date: Tuesday June 29, 2021.
‘I was in the gym actually stretching. I turned away because stuff like that makes me, like, really emotional.
‘I wish her the best. I wish that hopefully she can have a speedy recovery.
‘You could tell she was really emotional. Nobody ever wants to retire, but especially at a Grand Slam, a place as special as Wimbledon after waiting two years to come back.
‘The only thing I can do is wish her well wishes and hope she’ll be back in time for the hard court season.’
The wet conditions at SW19 this year have seen plenty of players slipping, with Gauff continuing: ‘I think everybody saw me slipping and sliding out there on the court.
‘I don’t know about Serena’s court because she’s on Centre, I’m on an outside court. My court, I didn’t realise this till after the match, but my coaches were telling me when I was going to get my towel, the ground was super wet in the back so it was causing my shoes to get wet; therefore, I was slipping a little bit.
‘Also, that’s just in general. No one is really used to moving on grass because the season is so short. People are bound to have slips and falls.
‘With Serena, I mean, it was hard for me to watch that. I’m a big fan of her, even though I’m a competitor now. But she’s the reason why I started to play tennis. It’s hard to watch any player get injured, but especially her.’
