Venus Williams on Wimbledon exit: "I started perfectly; I was literally killing it, then I got killed by the grass"

Venus Williams discussed the unfortunate fall she suffered during her first round clash with Elina Svitolina during the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.

Williams started the match off strong, breaking the Ukrainian's serve early to claim a 2-0 lead in the opening set. While attempting a volley at the net to fend off a break point in the third game, the 43-year-old slipped and fell to the ground. The American yelled out in pain while clutching her already taped-up right knee, prompting Elina Svitolina and the chair umpire to rush to her aid.

Despite a medical timeout, Venus Williams' movement was visibly hampered for the remainder of the match, allowing Svitolina to claim a 6-4, 6-3 victory in an hour and 31 minutes.

Following her defeat, Williams acknowledged the inherent slipperiness of grass courts and joked about a perfect start to her Wimbledon campaign being derailed by the fall.

"Grass is inherently going to be slippery. You're going to fall at some point. It was just bad luck for me. I started the match perfectly. I was literally killing it, then I got killed by the grass," Venus Williams said in her post-match press conference.

The former World No. 1 expressed her shock and disappointment at her early exit from the grasscourt Major, given her run of form in the lead-up to the Grand Slam.

"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. This is sports. I'm hitting the ball well. Hopefully I can just figure out what's happening with me and move forward," she added.

"I've won a lot of matches injured, I just couldn't figure it out today" - Venus Williams after Wimbledon 1R defeat

Venus Williams suffers first round exit at Wimbledon 2023

Venus Williams admitted that the first round loss was hard for her to process, given that the fall was not the result of any mistake on her part. She stated that such setbacks were emotionally, mentally, and physically challenging to process during the match.

"I think 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," she said.

The 43-year-old acknowledged her inability to find a way to overcome the challenge depsite her past experiences of playing through injury.

"I just couldn't figure it out today. It was just real challenging. I've played through a lot of injuries and won a lot of matches injured. It's almost a specialty of mine. I just couldn't figure it out today," she added.

Following her win over Venus Williams, Elena Svitolina will take on Elise Mertens in the second round at Wimbledon 2023.