Serena Williams confirmed her return to tennis after an absence of nearly four years after retiring.
The 44-year-old, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, had
retired from the sport after a third-round loss at the 2022 US Open.
On Monday, however, the former world number one announced
she will be competing in women’s doubles at Queen’s Club later this month.
“Good news travels fast”, Serena posted on social media
along with a video of her on court in an all-white Nike tennis dress and with
her phone buzzing rapidly in the background.
Her imminent return has been touted since it was revealed in
December she had re-entered the anti-doping programme — a prerequisite to play
on the tour again.
At the time, she denied she was planning a return to
competitive tennis by posting on social media: “Omg y’all, I’m not coming back.
This wildfire is crazy.”
But the American has been given a wild card for the women’s
doubles at Queen’s in London, reportedly alongside young Canadian Victoria
Mboko.
“Queen’s Club feels like the perfect place to begin this
next chapter,” said Williams, who won the Wimbledon singles title seven times.
“Grass has given me some of the most meaningful moments of
my career, and I’m excited to be back competing on one of the sport’s most
iconic stages.”
The women’s event at Queen’s starts on June 8.
“Serena Williams is one of the greatest athletes the world
has ever seen, and we’re delighted that she will be making her return to tennis
at the LTA’s HSBC Championships,” said WTA tournament director Laura Robson.
“Women’s tennis made a historic return to the Queen’s Club
last year, and now we have an icon of the game stepping back on to court.”
Williams said in 2022 she did not want to use the word
“retiring” but instead explained she was “evolving” away from tennis.
The American’s 23 Grand Slam singles titles are the most by
a woman in the Open era and put her second on all the all-time list in the
women’s behind Australian Margaret Court’s tally of 24.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com