Victoria Mboko and Serena Williams were set up to be a promising doubles pair, especially after the two won their first match over a third-seeded team at the HSBC Championships. In Mboko's next singles match, however, she fell and injured the MCL in her left knee.
The injury forced the rising Canadian star to withdraw from the event, both in singles and doubles. That meant Williams was done, too, as the American wasn't playing in doubles. Mboko is now out for the rest of the grass-court season as well.
That means she won't be playing at Wimbledon, a tournament she seemed well-fitted to perform in, as she has an excellent serve and can likely serve-and-volley quite well. While Williams is playing in next week's Berlin Open in doubles with Karolina Muchova, the 23-time Grand Slam winner was expected to re-team with Mboko for the grass-court major.
Victoria Mboko's knee injury means Serena Williams will need to find a new doubles partner for Wimbledon
That obviously won't happen now. While Williams could potentially play doubles at Wimbledon with Muchova, the Czech player is not overly experienced at playing doubles. The American icon could choose to go in a completely different direction.
It might be too close to the beginning of the next major for Williams to find a doubles partner in Coco Gauff or Jessica Pegula; those players would be excellent options. Both have a long run of sustained success in both aspects of tennis.
Serena Williams shouldn't be ruled out of playing singles at Wimbledon, either. She would need a wild card to get into the event, but no doubt she would receive one if she requested it. She is arguably the best women's player in history, and the grass-court major wouldn't tell her no.
As for Victoria Mboko, there is no timetable for her return, and the extent of her MCL injury isn't known. After falling and being seen by a physio, she said her knee did not have any stability. That implies an injury that could keep her out well past the grass-court season.
Obviously, tennis fans should hope that isn't the case. She is one of the best young players on tour, and she's already won two tournaments. One was the Masters event in Montreal in 2025. She also won in Hong Kong. In 2026, she had reached three finals. While she has yet to win one, one should assume she will be the winner of plenty of tournaments throughout the rest of her career.
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