Serena Williams, the tennis star, withdrew from the women's doubles competition at the Wimbledon tennis championships, in which she was scheduled to play alongside her sister Venus, after suffering a knee injury during her first-round singles loss. The 44-year-old player said on her official Instagram account: 'My heart breaks to have to withdraw from doubles; returning to competition again was a gift, and the opportunity to play alongside Venus Williams once again means so much to me. I gave it my all, but unfortunately my knee is not ready to compete yet.' The anticipated return of the American player to the Grand Slams after a four-year absence ended in disappointment, following her 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 loss to young Australian Maya Joint on Tuesday. The Williams sisters, who have six doubles titles at the All England Club, received a wild card and were scheduled to face Solana Sierra and Camila Osorio in the first round. Serena confirmed after her loss to Joint that she felt pain in her right knee at the end of the first set, adding: 'I am especially grateful to tournament director Jamie Baker and the entire staff for giving me every possible chance to recover. Thank you to the fans for their incredible support and for making this return so meaningful. All I can say is stay tuned for my visit to a city near you.' Serena partnered with promising Canadian player Victoria Mboko in a WTA tournament at the Queen's Club last May, but the duo's run ended early after Mboko suffered a knee injury during singles play. Subsequently, Serena formed a team with Czech player Karolina Muchova at the Berlin Open, but the pair also lost in their first match.