Sports

Navratilova: Serena’s meltdown wasn’t from virus

No less an authority than Martina Navratilova has said what many are thinking about Serena Williams’ bizarre breakdown Tuesday at Wimbledon.

After Williams stumbled around the court for three games of a doubles match with sister Venus, badly bobbling her tosses and blundering through four hideous double faults when it was her turn to serve — this after a 13-minute medical break before the match even started — Serena retired with what she called a “bug” and “viral illness.”

Navratilova isn’t buying that excuse.

“I think virus, whatever they’re saying it was, I don’t think that was it,” Navratilova told ESPNw. “I think it’s clear that’s not the case. I don’t know what it is, but I hope Serena will be OK.”

Though Navratilova did not go as far as to suggest what she thought “it” was — something chemical? a Richie Tenenbaum moment? — the nine-time Wimbledon champ was baffled Serena even made it on the court in her distressed condition.

“It’s the most inexplicable thing of all that she was clearly in no state to play a match and that with all the people around her, that they didn’t stop her from getting on the court,” Navratilova said.

“The coach said he hadn’t seen her for two days. He didn’t know anything. How can you be a coach and not know anything? That’s wrong. And Venus was just kind of there. You don’t know what’s going on, but virus was not it, that much is clear.”

Serena posted a kind of recovery photo to Instagram on Wednesday.