WIMBLEDON, England, June 29 — Serena Williams bowed out of Wimbledon today with her left calf taped tight, her smile fixed in place and her self-esteem sky-high despite the disappointing end to her tournament run.

One round before she was to meet big sister Venus, 16-year-old Serena withdrew mid-match from her third-round meeting with Spain's Virginia Ruano Pascual after injuring her left leg in a fall on Wimbledon's slippery grass. Venus, who was on Court 18 at the time, defeated fellow American Chanda Rubin, 6-3, 6-4, in her third-round match.

The Williams sisters have played each other twice professionally, with 18-year-old Venus the victor both times.

"We were going to be pretty excited about facing each other again," said Serena, who had been favored to beat Ruano Pascual. "It was going to give something exciting to England for once."

Serena fell in the middle of the first set and was assisted by a trainer at 4-5 in that set but carried on into the second. After losing the first set, 7-5, and the first four games of the second, Serena held serve to make the score 4-1, then unexpectedly decided it was time to quit.

"I could have carried on if I wanted to," Serena said, "but I have to think about the future. I don't want to hurt myself over something silly and be out for two months just because I didn't stop."

Serena also said she felt no compulsion to take a risk because, at 16 and playing in her first Wimbledon, she has plenty of chances to win the title. Not that she didn't think she could win it as a rookie this year.

"I had all the expectations for this Wimbledon," she said. "I expected to go all the way. I guess I just won't be able to this year. . . . In the future, I definitely see myself as one of the champions."

Serena also pulled out of her scheduled women's doubles match, which she was to play with her sister, and now is relegated to the role of spectator — and cheerleader — for the remainder of the tournament. She said today she planned to give her sister some tips for beating Ruano Pascual (whom she dismissed, stating, "If I was in better shape, it wouldn't have been happening at all"), and she considered Venus's path to the title to be brighter now that she's out of the way. Venus agreed.

"Serena is definitely the toughest player out there," she said. "She's fast and strong and getting better with every tournament."

Giggling and clearly not depressed by her injury, Serena declared the London shopping to be her favorite part of her first Wimbledon experience as a participant (she came here with her sister last summer) and the frequent rain to be her worst.

"That's probably why my leg started hurting," Serena joked. "I went shopping yesterday."

Asked if she was a "shop-til-you-drop" kind of person, she laughed and agreed.

"Yes, definitely," she said. "I guess I dropped today."

Davenport Advances
No. 2 Lindsay Davenport has been perhaps the quietest entrant in the women's draw, and she has been cruising without having to face much limelight. Today, she dominated Magui Serna, 6-1, 6-0, to continue on a path to meet Monica Seles in the final. . . .

Thanks to the weather, several women will have to play every day en route to the semifinals Thursday (Wednesday is usually an off-day for the women), but Seles and Davenport are among the lucky ones who will be able to take a rest. . . .

Told that five-time champion Bjorn Borg used to play games and cards during Wimbledon rain delays, Pete Sampras — who tends to be a loner — raised his eyebrows. "That must have worked," he said.