Venus Williams was visibly emotional at Wimbledon on Monday when discussing the recent fatal car crash in which she was involved.
The five-time champion is being sued in the United States after a 78-year-old man, Jerome Barson, suffered "massive" fatal injuries in the June 9 collision.
Williams had previously written on Facebook that she was "heartbroken" over the crash which occurred in her Florida hometown.
According to police, the 37-year-old was crossing a junction when her vehicle collided with a car being driven by Linda Barson, whose husband Jerome was in the passenger seat. Mr Barson died 13 days later.
Civil court documents filed last Friday by the couple's daughter Audrey Gassner-Dunayer in Palm Beach County, Florida, claim Williams was "driving carelessly and recklessly" which "led to the catastrophic injuries and death of Jerome Barson".
When asked about the crash in her first press conference since arriving in London, Williams said: "There are really no words to describe, like, how devastating and - yeah. I'm completely speechless."
At that point she began to cry and after an awkward silence left the room, before returning shortly afterwards, with the moderator suggesting subsequent questions focused on tennis.
When a reporter then asked Williams if being back in the tennis fold helped to "heal those wounds you feel at the moment", she declined to answer the question.
