LONDON (AP) — Serena Williams had to talk herself into accepting a Wimbledon offer. to play solo.
The All England Club had the last wild card entry and the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion – who had already announced she would play doubles with her sister Venus – had a decision to make.
“I thought I really should take advantage of this opportunity. Who knows if I’ll ever get here again. It could happen,” Williams, 44, said at a news conference Sunday.
“I said, ‘What’s wrong with me, Serena? What are you thinking? Are you crazy? Like you should really do this,'” she continued. “People live to be an athlete. I believe I have a great opportunity to show what I do, what I do best. Yes, I think eventually I was someone who is very good at it, so I should do it.”
Williams’ first match at a grass-court Grand Slam since 2022 will take place on Center Court on Tuesday evening when she faces 20-year-old Maya Joyce of Australia as part of her development. tennis comeback.
Williams had been away from the game since her withdrawal from the 2022 US Open.
Her most recent appearance at Wimbledon was in 2022 when she lost in the preliminary round To Harmony Tan, who was ranked 115th at the time. The American great moved away from tennis – she described it as “evolving” – after lost in the third round To Ajla Tomljanovic in Flushing Meadows.
After accepting a wild card into the first doubles, Williams described her decision-making process for the singles.
“So I think it was on, I had until Monday to decide. I think it was like Sunday. I wasn’t sure until then,” she said. “To be honest, I’m not sure yet, but we’ll see.”
Williams is a seven-time Wimbledon singles champion, but on Sunday she said “my expectations are definitely different than usual for the first time in my career.”
Defending champion Iga Swiatek, in keeping with tradition, begins play against Taylor Townsend on Center Court on Tuesday (1:30 p.m. local time). Next up will be Taylor Fritz vs. home favorite Jack Draper – one of the most intriguing men’s first-round matchups.
And then Williams-Joint.
“Yeah, actually I know her. I’ve seen some videos of her,” said Williams, who paused for a moment and then added, “I’m sure she knows my game.”
The Michigan-born Williams slipped from 53rd to 87th in the WTA rankings updated on Sunday.
Serena gets nervous?
Apparently goats get butterflies too.
“I expect to be nervous. I’ve been nervous in every game I’ve played in my life,” Williams said. “I think it shows my passion, love and care, that I care about what I do, whether it’s the first round or the second round or the final. I always have some nerves. But then I shake them off, then move on.”
Williams’ first round Wimbledon singles record is 19–2 – she had lost in her two previous appearances: 2021 And 2022.
The most recent of his seven singles titles was at the All England Club in 2016. She reached the final in 2018 – 10 months after giving birth – and lost to Angelique Kerber. A year later, she lost to Simona Halep in the final.
Williams officially returned to tennis earlier this month in a doubles match with the 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko At the Queen’s Club grass-court tournament. then she played Couple in Berlin with Karolina Muchova – Defeat in the first round.
What can we expect from Serena?
Mira Andreeva, the newly crowned French Open champion, probably spoke for many top players when she mentioned on Saturday that she was relieved to see that she did not face Williams in the first round.
“Respectfully,” Williams said, “it’s not a surprise just because I think whoever has done it — it’s like the return of the big four, I mean, Novak (Djokovic) is still here, but nobody would want to play them in their first round. I can’t think of anybody who would want to do that.”
He added, “No one knows how my game might or might not have developed, not knowing much about what to expect. It’s always very difficult to play against these types of opponents.”
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