Is Serena Williams brave enough to make the Wimbledon champions comeback? Can a 23-year-old Grand Slam champion compete at 44? | Tennis News

Gamechanger, trailblazer, history-maker: Does Serena dare to return to Wimbledon after playing two doubles matches?

It has since emerged late last year that he had it also entered the anti-doping testing area – an awkward and time-consuming commitment that no one who doesn’t intend to play professional tennis would commit to – the countdown clock is ticking.

The grass court season made sense for Serena to dip her toe in again, given her comfort on the surface and her lower physical demands compared to clay.

After waiting for Wimbledon until the last minute and the surprise card spot opened surprisingly, Serena decided to put aside her arm, while she turned 90 years old, Williams and her sister Venus once again played twice.

Serena, who said she is “retiring” from the sport in 2022, impressed in her opening double at Queen’s Club.

That was very unfortunate Victoria Mboko’s injury means that Serena can only play one matchwhile living in Berlin he did not live long as he lost in the first round alongside Karolina Muchova.

Is Serena getting her singles back soon?

Speaking at the Hurlingham Club, Monica Puig, who became the first Puerto Rican tennis player in history to win a gold medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016, admitted she was “surprised” to see Serena accept a singles card.

“I saw in an interview that he was going to recover from playing singles and I know there was speculation that he would, I didn’t think he would come back right after hearing that interview, but I think it’s really exciting,” Puig admitted.

“This is great for tennis, it’s great for Wimbledon, and I can see why she wants to come back and play singles. There are a lot of opportunities out there. We see a lot of trauma here and there, a lot can happen in each tournament and Serena has the mentality of being a champion.

“He’s a very good opponent so you know what to expect when you face him on court. He’s not going to give you anything easy, so it’s going to be really interesting how Wimbledon plays out. It’s exciting for every tennis fan out there.”

Doubling at 44 is one thing, but singles is arguably a bigger gamble as she will be heading straight into a Grand Slam having not played a competitive match in nearly four years.

It’s almost a decade since she won her last top 23 singles title – while she was in the early stages of pregnancy with her eldest daughter Olympia.

She reached the singles finals at Wimbledon in 2018 and 2019, losing in straight sets twice, and has not won a match at the All England Club since.

Puig said: “If he comes back, it’s for a reason, because he feels fit to play. He won’t take a wild card if he doesn’t feel fit 100 percent and we know that grass can be a very tricky place to get used to, and you need to feel physically fit to do so, so his taking the opportunity is right and he feels comfortable and he feels comfortable.

“He’ll go in with the mindset of not having anything to lose and that might help him, or he can go in with the mindset of a champion where he says, ‘I’m in this to win it’ so that really depends on him, but he has to take it day by day.”

How much will Serena trust in her service?

At Queen’s, Serena looked sharp at the net and with her groundstrokes, with her serve hitting an impressive 120mph – something she’ll have a lot to answer for at Wimbledon.

“He’ll want to rely on getting a lot of free points if he can. His performance could get him out of trouble,” said Puig, who reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2013.

“Especially grass is a mental concern because things happen so quickly and there can be changes in the lane. As long as he can keep the score short, I know he likes to go to the net, he feels a lot of confidence there and he has a lot of success in doubles, and he is a very scary opponent.”

Can Serena make an impact on women’s tennis?

Serena has been open about her use of weight-loss drugs following the birth of her second daughter Adira in 2023, and world No 1 Lindsay Davenport said: “She looks in amazing shape and arguably in better shape than when she left the game.

“Grass is a tough place to start, though. It’s very fast, very low, very physical. It’s not as fast as clay but a lot of bending.”

Speaking before his return, Williams insisted he had nothing to prove, but Davenport doubted that the implications of the idea were irrelevant to him.

“His mindset has always been to get better,” said the 1999 Wimbledon champion. “His mind has always been dissatisfied with mediocrity.

“We have to think that he will come back because he feels that he is in a position where he will be able to participate immediately in women’s tennis.

“It’s unreasonable to expect that he’s just winning championships, but he feels like he can work his way into it. It’s been a long time, a lot of years out. Obviously it doesn’t get easier as you get older.

“We have never seen an athlete like him in our sport before, so he has a lot going for him.”

Bartoli: Playing in front of the kids gave Williams strength

Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli is concerned that Serena’s return to the game could be a challenge, especially as the American player turns 45 in September.

“It’s very difficult [to return at that age]with training, it’s very hard on the body, and especially for Serena who is pregnant twice,” said Bartoli. Sky Sports.

“Playing in front of her children gave her a lot of energy. We saw it at Queen’s – she played well in her first doubles match with Victoria Mboko. She was very unlucky not to continue playing in this tournament.

“Venus was on the court, playing singles last year, so she’s not rusty – but for Serena, working the way she did in that match – she went back years ago.

“I’m very happy to see him back on the court.”

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