LONDON (AP) — Serena Williams appears to have recovered enough from a knee issue in time to play doubles at Wimbledon.
Serena, 44, and Venus Williams, 46, are scheduled to play their opening-round doubles match Saturday after organizers pushed it back to give Serena time to deal with a knee problem she sustained during her loss in singles.
The Williams sisters' match against Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra is the only first-round doubles match yet to be played at the grass-court tournament. Organizers put it on Saturday's schedule but have yet to assign a court for the match, saying only that it will be played after 4:30 p.m. local time (1530 GMT).
That indicates that it will be played on one of the show courts, after the singles matches there are finished.
Serena lost to Maya Joint in the first round of the singles tournament after returning to the All England Club for the first time in four years and tweaked her right knee during that match.
Tournament director Jamie Baker acknowledged the match was pushed back because the All England Club wanted to give Serena “as much time” as possible to recover for the doubles.
“We want her to play if she ... possibly can,” Baker said earlier Friday.
Venus played in the mixed doubles tournament on Friday together with Kevin Krawietz, losing in straight sets to Tereza Mihalikova and Lloyd Glasspool.
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Venus Williams of the United States returns a ball during the first round mixed doubles match with her partner Kevin Krawietz of Germany against Lloyd Glasspool of Britain and Tereza Mihalikova of Slovakia at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 3, 2026.(AP Photo/Maja Smiejkowska)
Venus Williams of the United States plays a return during the first round mixed doubles match with her partner Kevin Krawietz of Germany against Lloyd Glasspool of Britain and Tereza Mihalikova of Slovakia at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 3, 2026.(AP Photo/Maja Smiejkowska)
Serena Williams of the United States greets the audience as she leaves after losing to Maya Joint of Australia in their first round women's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Maja Smiejkowska)
Saudi Arabia reopened its main airport for international flights, more than two weeks after deadly strikes by Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels knocked the facility out of service. Earlier Sunday, the kingdom said it intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile and a drone fired by the Houthis.
A massive Israeli military operation underway this weekend in the occupied West Bank — in response to an attack that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three in Hebron on Friday — has displaced hundreds of Palestinians over the weekend and put major restrictions on Palestinian movement.
It comes just days ahead of Israel's tense election on Tuesday, a vote widely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the wars and the hard-right turn Israel has taken both domestically and on the world stage.
Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Sunday. Read our full coverage here.
The King Khalid International Airport said it has opened terminals 1 and 2 for domestic and international flights, starting Sunday.
The airport announcement came as the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen continued to fire drones and missiles toward the Saudi capital.
Saudi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said they intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile and a drone fired by the Houthis early on Sunday.
In early October, Houthi strikes hit a complex housing two other terminals, killing 17 people and wounding over 330.
Last week, the Riyadh airport opened to limited domestic flights.
The Israeli military carried out a massive military operation in the occupied West Bank over the weekend, displacing hundreds of Palestinians and placing major restrictions on Palestinian movement.
The operations came in response to an attack that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three in the West Bank city of Hebron on Friday.
The operation comes as Israel enters the final days before a tense election, the first since the 2023 Hamas-led attacks and ensuing wars in the region.
The vote is largely seen as a referendum on current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership and security policies during the past three years of war.
The Israeli military announced early Sunday that most Palestinian workers with permits will not be allowed to enter Israeli communities for work in the occupied West Bank on Sunday and Monday, and several crossings will also remain closed until after Israel’s elections on Tuesday.
The AID Coalition, a U.S.-based nonprofit focused on strengthening Israel’s democracy, says tens of thousands of Israelis living abroad are expected to fly in for the vote.
Israeli law generally requires citizens to vote in person in the country, with narrow exceptions for diplomats and certain official emissaries abroad.
Israel has more than 7.3 million registered voters, but polling suggests a tight race. Previous elections have turned on thin margins. It’s unclear what effect these voters from abroad might have, but many liberal Israelis who don’t support Netanyahu have left the country in recent years, suggesting that those returning to cast ballots would not support him.
This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
A demonstrator wearing a mask depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends an anti-government rally ahead of the country's general election, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A demonstrator wearing a mask depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends an anti-government protest ahead of Israel's general election, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Saudi-led coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki speaks during a press conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Baraa Anwer)
