Serena Williams, in Pain and in Tears, Exits Wimbledon With a Leg Injury

Williams started her first-round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich aggressively, but she slipped on the grass court and later fell after injuring her right hamstring.

WIMBLEDON, England — Serena Williams’s 20th Wimbledon ended shortly after it began. She retired 34 minutes into the first set of her first-round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich on Tuesday night because of a right hamstring injury. “I was heartbroken to have to withdraw today after injuring my right leg,” Williams wrote in a post on Instagram, adding: “Feeling the extraordinary warmth and support of the crowd today when I walked on — and off — the court meant the world to me.” It was poignant to see Williams, one of the great champions in any sport, in pain and in tears on the famous patch of grass where she has often triumphed through the years. She has won seven Wimbledon singles titles, six women’s doubles titles and one mixed doubles title on Centre Court.