WIMBLEDON, England — Venus Williams has long been the stoic of the two famous sisters, containing her emotions, maintaining her cool. For the whole of her two-decades-plus professional career, Venus has left the public passion plays to Serena and has gone about her business with typically no more than a smile or a frown.

But mostly with the forbearance of a dedicated poker player.

And then came a news conference here on Monday afternoon that was as stunning as it was revealing of an anguish she has brought with her to Wimbledon, with the grass-court surface most tailored to her game and special in her heart.

The questions about a fatal car accident in early June for which Williams has been blamed and sued — though not yet cited or charged by law enforcement — were posed gently but persistently. When she finally capitulated, asked if there was anything she wished to add to a statement of sorrow she had recently released, she described these past few weeks as devastating before being unable to punctuate her grief.

“There are really no words to describe, like, how devastating and — yeah, I’m completely speechless,” she said. “It’s just — yeah, I mean, I’m just.…”