Serena Williams teases return to competitive tennis, says Tom Brady ‘started a really cool trend’
The 20-time Grand Slam winner says she still plans to play, ‘hopefully with [Wimbledon] next year’
A year ago, Williams was on the brink of retirement.
She had undergone two major operations on her right knee, the left side of her left foot had been replaced by a metal plate and the tendon in her right hand was so badly damaged she could not hold a tennis racket.
But now a comeback for a fourth and possibly final season in the tennis world’s biggest attraction might happen sooner than anyone expects.
Williams, 33, has been sidelined since a July 2015 calf injury and it is thought the time she spent recovering will have helped her return but Williams says she still plans to return in 2017, with Wimbledon the final major she wants to compete on before retirement.
‘The way I look at it, you have a lot of time to make up for and you don’t want to miss it’ Serena Williams
“I always want to be able to play on the grandest stages I can and at the top of the game. I’ve had a phenomenal year. I’m not going to tell you that because I want to not make any excuses for myself. That time is too precious and it would be too disappointing for me to miss it or to say I’m too rusty. I’m feeling really comfortable with my fitness now at 30-some-odd. I feel good.
“The way I look at it, you have a lot of time to make up for and you don’t want to miss it. I had the surgery a year ago and a bunch of things came up.
“I’ve had time to make things up in terms of the way I look, I feel like the way I feel the most comfortable and the way I feel, I’m going to try to play again. I’m hoping that happens next year and Wimbledon is the next majors I would like to play on. That’s our goal and I’m really excited about that. That is going to be really fun. Hopefully, we do it next year.”
Williams said she felt she had a “huge” year when she won a fifth mixed doubles grand slam title at the Australian
