Serena Williams defaults because of mysterious ailment

Serena Williams and her sister Venus defaulted out of the women’s doubles here late Tuesday afternoon under strange circumstances.

They were to play the team of Kristina Barrois of Germany and Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland, and they warmed up on Court One in preparation for that. But before they went out to play, a doctor was called to Serena’s chair and a delay of about 10 minutes ensued.

The younger Williams sister, who had lost as the top-seeded player in singles Saturday, appeared to be in tears for much of the time, during which medical personnel talked to her. They also appeared to give her a pill.

Finally, the teams were told to play—the Williams sisters’ opponents now likely as cooled down as they were confused.

The match quickly went to 3-0, in favor of Barrois-Voegele, and it included a service game by Serena, one of the fastest servers in the game, where she double faulted four times and none of her serves were fast enough to register on the speed gun.

After that game, the doctors came out again, the chair umpire announced a default and Serena Williams was walked slowly off the court by her sister and the medical people.

An hour after the default, no official announcement had been made as to the circumstances.