The world’s leading female athlete was almost bouncing off the walls as she walked down the tunnel from Wimbledon’s main player complex to Court No 1.
It was the second Monday of Wimbledon last year and Serena Williams was about to play doubles with her sister Venus, but the unsteadiness on her feet suggested that all was not well.
What happened in the next half hour only confirmed it as the crowd looked on with a mixture of bemusement and alarm. This colossus of any era in tennis, disorientated and bereft of co-ordination, could barely put racket to ball and, with officials and medical staff swarming onto the court, was forced to abandon the match after three games.