Serena Williams not expected to play a grass court tournament before Wimbledon despite playing only 12 matches so far this year following French Open third round defeat Serena Williams has not asked for a wildcard for the Eastbourne International She also declined the chance to appear at Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham This means she will not play a grass court tournament before Wimbledon Williams suffered third round defeat at French Open and has ongoing knee injuryBy Mike Dickson for the Daily Mail Published: 14:28 BST, 17 June 2019 | Updated: 14:28 BST, 17 June 2019 Viewcomments Serena Williams appears to have given up on the idea of playing a grass court tournament ahead of Wimbledon that she floated after losing at the French Open. The 37 year-old American has been in Europe but is no longer expected to play at Eastbourne next week to try and get some extra matches after her third round loss in Paris. Whether this is related to her ongoing knee injury is unclear, but her suggestion that she may go against type and play a warm-up event for The Championships has fallen by the wayside. Serena Williams is not currently entered to play a grass court tournament before Wimbledon Williams has been announced as appearing at a gala event being held at the tennis academy of her coach Patrick Mouratoglou in Nice next Sunday. Last weekend she was reported to have served as a bridesmaid at the wedding of her close friend Caroline Wozniacki in Italy. Sources at the Lawn Tennis Association confirmed that she had turned down an invitation to play at the current Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham, and that no request for a wildcard into Eastbourne had been forthcoming. Williams lost in the French Open third round and has played just 12 matches so far this year That she is in Europe does not give the impression that there is an imminent threat of her withdrawing from the big fortnight. It means, though, that she would go into Wimbledon having played only twelve matches this year, with a record of 9-3. She has played only five tournaments, scratching from matches in two of them and retiring midway through one other. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility