Five-time champion Venus Williams returned to Wimbledon a quarter of a century after her first win on the All England Club lawns but was unable to summon the old magic in a painful first-round defeat by Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina on Monday.
The 43-year-old American, contesting the Wimbledon singles for a record 24th time, still retains the easy power that once made her the queen of centre court but succumbed 6-4 6-3 after a nasty early fall hindered her movement.
