London (AFP) – Serena Williams will take part in her first professional tennis match in nearly four years on Tuesday after organisers confirmed the order of play at London’s Queen’s Club. Granted a wildcard into the women’s doubles of the WTA tournament, Williams and Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko will face third seeds Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez in the grass-court event, a warm-up for Wimbledon.
Williams is one of tennis’ all-time greats with 23 Grand Slam singles titles to her credit. The 44-year-old American last played at the 2022 US Open when she said she was “evolving away from tennis.” Williams’ return is fuelled by a desire for her two young daughters with husband Alexis Ohanian to see her in a competitive environment before she finally hangs up her racquet for good.
“It’s really about the kids seeing me play,” Williams told reporters at Queen’s on Sunday. “Olympia is a little bit older, Adira is very young. It’s components like that.” After competing at Queen’s, Williams will take part in the doubles at the Berlin Open from June 15-21.
In her first press conference since announcing her return, Williams played down suggestions she would extend her return to singles competition. But, with Wimbledon looming later in June, she did not completely rule out the possibility of featuring at a tournament she has won seven times.
“For singles, I can’t say ‘yeah’ and I can’t say ‘no,'” explained Williams. “Right now, no. I feel like I probably need to train a little bit more if I want to play singles. We will see if I get there and if not, it is not my journey right now.”
© 2024 AFP
