Serena Williams bowed out of her Wimbledon opener after falling to the ground with an apparent ankle injury

• Serena Williams suffered an apparent ankle injury during her first-round match at Wimbledon.
• The 23-time Grand Slam champion fell to the grass and let out a scream before leaving the court.
• She retired from the major tournament, marking the second time she's done so in her esteemed career.
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Serena Williams is out at Wimbledon.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion was once again vying for her record-tying 24th major title, but an apparent injury has put that quest on hold.

Williams faced 100th-ranked Belarusian player Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the first round of tennis' most esteemed tournament – and the 39-year-old's favorite Grand Slam – Tuesday evening. But early in the first set, Williams looked to have tweaked her ankle and limped in pain.

Though she tried to play through her apparent discomfort, Williams reached a point during the seventh game of the set in which she could no longer forge on. The seven-time Wimbledon champion let out a loud shriek as she fell to the grass. When she picked herself up, she was wiping tears off of her face.

She had no choice but to retire, marking just the second time in her illustrious career that she's done so during a major match, per ESPN.

Should she move past her injury in time, Williams will have another shot at Margaret Court's elusive all-time Grand Slam record later this summer. The US Open - the final major tournament of the calendar year - is set to begin on August 30.

Williams has won the New York-based event six times in her career and has reached the final in two of the past three years.

Check out the video of Williams' unfortunate exit from Wimbledon 2021 below:

-ESPN (@espn) June 29, 2021