Serena Williams to make sensational tennis comeback ahead of Wimbledon | Tennis | Sport
Serena Williams is set for a comeback (Image: Getty)
Serena Williams has requested a doubles wild card to play alongside 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko at Queen’s Club in 10 days’ time. A return to action would see the tennis superstar return to action four years after retiring from the sport, having won 23 majors.
The 44-year-old re-entered the anti-doping testing pool in August last year and has completed a mandatory six-month spell within it, in order to be permitted to compete. Now, she is said to have asked for a wild card into the pre-Wimbledon event.
While for the moment, Williams’ plans appear not to include singles action, Andy Roddick believes the Wimbledon legend will return to SW19 to compete individually. He believes that the major is her best chance of capturing lightning in a bottle.
Speaking on his podcast on Wednesday, Roddick said: “I don’t think as soon as you re-enter doping protocols […] Maybe you don’t know if you’re coming back or not, but at the very least you’re thinking really hard about it.
“And I know this isn’t a pragmatic decision; I’m sure there’s emotion. I’m sure there’s the champion’s mentality, ego, and like ‘what if’, and all of this stuff. If you enter doping protocols, you’re looking to come back, or at least you’re looking at the option to come back.
“If you do that and you’re Serena Williams, I’ve got to think: is she going to be faster than when she left? I don’t know. I mean, she looks in fantastic shape. And I think you could say her best chance of lightning in a bottle in this comeback is that it’s on grass at Wimbledon.
“I think we’re going to see her play singles. And I do think the only thing that is a little bit of a doubles-motivated thing, as her sister [Venus] is also not retired yet… Would you do it for your sister, for one last run at the US Open or something like that? Yes, and I said that eight months ago. So, that’s the only caveat.
“I don’t think she plays only doubles at Wimbledon. I think she’s going to play singles, but I think there’s a half a chance she plays singles before that.
“I just don’t see, at this point in her life where she’s in her 40s coming back… How many shots in the basket are you going to have on your best surface in singles again, if that’s your intent? I don’t think she can skip Wimbledon this year in singles. I think if you’re going to come back, I think you got to go.
Serena Williams retired in 2022 (Image: Getty)
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“At this point, I’d be more surprised if she didn’t come back just to put a bow on it. I think we’re going to see her play professional tennis. I will put it in my veins. I want Serena back on the tennis court. That would be unbelievable. I hope it happens!”
Following her emotional retirement after the US Open in 2022, Williams admitted that walking away from the sport was difficult for her. Writing for Vogue, she explained she did not want her career to be over, but was ready to put work into her venture capital firm, Serena Ventures, and to continue to grow her family.
“There is no happiness in this topic for me. I know it’s not the usual thing to say, but I feel a great deal of pain.
“It’s the hardest thing that I could ever imagine. I hate it. I hate that I have to be at this crossroads.
“I keep saying to myself, I wish it could be easy for me, but it’s not. I’m torn: I don’t want it to be over, but at the same time I’m ready for what’s next.”
