Serena Williams comeback tournament OVER as setback to Wimbledon plans as Partner forced to pull out of Eastbourne

SERENA WILLIAMS has suffered a setback in her Wimbledon preparation.

The 40-year-old’s run in doubles at Eastbourne is over after her partner was forced to retire.

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Tunisian star Ons Jabeur had to pull out of the tournament on England’s south coast with a knee injury.

Williams and Jabeur had won their first two games on the pitch at Devonshire Park.

Wimbledon starts at SW19 on Monday and the withdrawal could have been cautionary tales.

Serena has accepted a wildcard for the event, which she has previously won seven times.

She has not played a competitive singles game in a year after tearing a hamstring on Center Court in 2021.

Williams has fallen to 1,208 in the WTA World Rankings due to her inactivity, but there was never any doubt that someone her size would be missing from the original wildcard list.

The 23-time Grand Slam winner announced her comeback on Instagram last week.

She posted a photo of her white Nike sneakers on grass and captioned it: “SW (Serena Williams) and SW19. it’s a date See you there. Let’s go.”

Tim Henman, who sits on the Wimbledon board, said: “It’s a good selection on the women’s side.

“Serena asked for one a few weeks ago and she will be playing at Eastbourne.

“Hopefully she gets a good chance to break into the grass pitch prep.”

William’s last major was the 2017 Australian Open – before giving birth to daughter Olympia – and since then she has lost in four major finals.

She is just one major triumph away from equaling Margaret Court’s long-standing record of 24 singles slams.