Serena Williams looked set to announce her return to tennis earlier this year and we may not have long to wait until this remarkable story becomes headline news around the world.
Confirmation that Williams had added her name back to the anti-doping list that she would need to be on to return to tennis sent shivers of excitement through the sport.
She may be a 44-year-old mother of two, but Williams is a sporting icon who may still be the biggest name in women’s tennis some four years after she hit her final ball in anger.
The notion that she could return to the court and challenge players who could easily be her daughters may seem fanciful, but this is no ordinary sporting superstar.
This is a legend who only needs one name to identify herself and like Tiger, LeBron, Roger and Novak, you should never write off the ultimate icons of sport.
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If Williams is going to make a return to tennis, two venues spring to mind as likely destinations and one of them will be on the tennis horizon very soon.
Social media rumours emanating from America suggest a decision will soon be made on where Williams will return and it would not be a surprise if the announcement came soon,
Wimbledon has long been a cherished venue for seven-time singles champion Williams, with her desire to play at the All England Club seeing her battle through the pain barrier at times to get onto the historic Centre Court.
Her last appearance came back in 2022, as she lost against Harmony Tan on a night when she was clearly hampered by an injury problem.
A few weeks later, the US Open crowd were waving farewell to Serena in an extended leaving party that captured headlines around the world.
So if we are to see Williams make a return to tennis in 2026, Wimbledon or the US Open seem to be obvious targets and the first of those will be on her mind next month.
There has been little or no news about if an when Williams will return, but she would be expected to play in a warm-up event before taking to the court again and if the super fit version of Serena we have seen in her public appearances is any gauge, she could be a real threat when she gets back on court.
Tennis365 spoke to former WTA Tour player and Sky Sports Tennis presenter Naomi Cavaday about the comeback of Williams and she set a high bar of expectation.
“It will be quite a spectacle,” said Cavaday, speaking exclusively to Tennis365 at a Sky Sports Tennis event in London.
“Whenever, wherever it happens, I mean, if she wants to play tournaments, we’ll have her. I’m fascinated by the motivation for it and to how it’s going to go because the problem with Serena’s record is that anything other than winning Slams will be seen as a disappointment.
“Maybe not as far as a failure, but when she came back from having a kid, I think making the finals was a success. No one saw it as a failure, but, you know, she’s here to win Slam. So if she’s coming back, everyone’s going to be expecting her to be winning Slams, not losing quarters.
“She’s in a very different position than her sister Venus, who’s clearly just playing because she enjoys it and doesn’t really worry that she’s losing in the first round a lot. But for Serena, I don’t know, I don’t know where this ends up if she loses early and she’s not a threat and she’s getting chewed up by players in the top 10.
“If that happens, it’s gonna be rough for her, but my expectations of what she can achieve are very high.
“I think her level walks to top 10, even after so long away and at her age. She might not necessarily get into the top 10 of the rankings, as she probably won’t play enough tournaments, but her level could be right there with top players quickly.
“I think you stick her against somebody ranked 20, I don’t think it’ll be a problem. She’ll have the occasional difficulty, I’m sure, along the way, but outside of Aryna Sabalenka and [Elena] Rybakina, she will be fancy her chances.
“Coco Gauff is having a few problems, there is a lot of talk around the issues in Iga Swiatek’s team and that’s gonna be going on throughout the whole season. Then I look at players like [Jasmine] Paolini and I think Serena would be able to beat players like that.”
The first date for a possible return for Serena is now upon us and after rumours of potential comeback dates over the last few months came to nothing, the prospect of playing at Wimbledon may be the trigger to get her back on court.
It remains to be seen if she plans to play in singles or compete with her sister Venus in doubles, but tennis is holding its breath over what comes next in the Serena story.
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