BRISBANE, Australia (AP) ― One thought entered Serena Williams’ mind as she sprawled across the baseline after injuring her ankle: “Not again!”

Yet another Australian Open campaign is in doubt due to injury ― she missed the 2002, 2004 and 2011 editions because she was hurt. In between, she has won five Australian titles and lost only twice at Melbourne Park.

In her first tournament since losing the U.S. Open final in September, Williams was serving for the match with a 6-2, 5-3 lead against Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia on Wednesday when she twisted her left ankle and crashed heavily to the court.

The 13-time Grand Slam winner lay near the baseline for several minutes while getting medical attention. She was helped to a courtside chair and had the ankle re-taped before resuming the second-round match.

Williams limped through the next game, wincing in pain after at least two points, before securing a 6-2, 6-4 win to advance to the Brisbane quarterfinals in her first trip Down Under since winning the 2010 Australian Open title.

She withdrew from the Brisbane tournament later Wednesday after having medical scans which confirmed a sprained ankle “that I probably shouldn’t play on.”

“I’m going to take a couple of days off ― not too many ― and see how I feel,” Williams said in a statement. “I’m still hopeful of playing the Australian Open.”

Williams has spent a total of 123 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 in the women’s rankings in a stellar career that has been punctuated by illness and injuries.