Is Serena Williams brave enough to make a solo comeback at Wimbledon? Can the 23-time Grand Slam champion compete at 44? | tennis news

Gamechanger, trailblazer, history-maker: Can Serena brave singles comeback after playing just two doubles matches at Wimbledon?

Ever since it emerged late last year that he was Re-enters anti-doping testing pool – an intrusive and time-consuming commitment that no one who wants to play professional tennis can handle themselves – the countdown clock is ticking.

The grass-court season made sense for Serena to dip her toe back in, given her comfort on the surface and its less physical demands than clay.

With a wild card spot tantalizingly open after waiting until the last minute at Wimbledon, Serena decided to try her hand at singles, while at 90, Williams and sister Venus are giving it another crack at doubles.

Serena, who said she was “evolving away” from the game in 2022, impressed in her opening doubles match at Queen’s Club.

It was very unfortunate Serena can only play one match due to Victoria Mboko’s injuryduring his stay Berlin proved short-lived as she lost to Karolina Muchova in the first round.

Is Serena making her solo comeback soon?

Speaking at the Hurlingham Club, Monica Puig, who became the first Puerto Rican tennis player in history to win gold at the Rio Olympics in 2016, admitted she was “surprised” to see Serena receive a singles wild card.

“I saw in an interview that he said he was going to ease his way into singles and I know there was some speculation that he was going to do that, I didn’t think he was going to come back after hearing that interview, but I think it’s really exciting,” Puig admitted.

“It’s great for tennis, great for Wimbledon, and I can see why she wants to come back and play singles. There are a lot of opportunities. We see a lot of upsets here and there, a lot can happen in every tournament and Serena has the mentality to be a champion.

“He’s a great competitor so you know what to expect when you face him on court. He’s not going to give you anything easy, so it’s going to be really interesting how Wimbledon plays out. It’s exciting for every tennis fan out there.”

Doubles at 44 is one thing, but singles is undoubtedly a huge gamble as he will go straight into a Grand Slam without playing a competitive match in nearly four years.

She won her 23 major singles titles – nearly a decade since she was in the early stages of pregnancy with her eldest daughter, Olympia.

She reached the singles final at Wimbledon in 2018 and 2019, losing in straight sets both times, and has not won a match at the All England Club since.

Puig said: “If he comes back, it’s for a reason, because he feels fit to play. If he doesn’t feel 100 percent fit, he’s not going to take the wild card and we know grass can be a very difficult surface to get used to, and to do that you have to feel physically fit, so to take his chance and he feels comfortable and it feels ready.

“He’s going to go in with a bit of a loser mentality and that might help him, or he could go in with a champion mentality where he’s saying, ‘I want to win this’ so it’s really up to him, but he’s got to take it day by day.”

How much will Serena rely on her serve?

At Queen’s, Serena was looking sharp at the net and with her groundstrokes, while her serve reached an impressive 120mph – something she would very much answer at Wimbledon.

“He’ll want to rely on making a lot of free points if he can. His serve can get him out of a lot of trouble,” said Puig, who reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2013.

“Especially grass is a surface that’s mentally very tiring because things can happen so quickly and the pace can change. As long as he can keep the points short, I know he also likes to make his way to the net, he feels very confident there and he has double success and he’s a very formidable opponent.”

Can Serena influence women’s tennis?

Serena has been open about her use of weight-loss drugs since the birth of her second daughter, Adira, in 2023, and former world No. 1 Lindsey Davenport said: “When she left the game she looked in incredible shape and in better shape.

“However, grass is a hard surface to start on. It goes very fast, very low, very physical. Doesn’t run as much as clay but bends a lot.”

Speaking ahead of his return, Williams insisted he had nothing to prove, but Davenport was skeptical that the results of his ideas were unimportant.

“His mentality has always been to be the best,” said the 1999 Wimbledon champion. “His mentality has always been to not settle for mediocrity.

“We have to assume she’s coming back because she feels she’s in a position where she can really make an immediate impact on women’s tennis.

It’s naive to expect him to win the tournament with the bat, but he looks like he can work his way into it. It’s been a long time, several years since he was out. Obviously it doesn’t get any easier as you get older.

“We’ve never seen an athlete like him in our sport, so he’s got a lot going for him in this regard.”

Bartoli: Playing in front of kids gave Williams energy

Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli is concerned that Serena’s return to action could prove challenging, especially as the American turns 45 in September.

“It’s very difficult (to get back to that age), with training, it’s very difficult for the body and especially for Serena with two pregnancies,” Bartoli said. Sky Sports.

“Playing in front of her kids gave her a lot of energy. We saw at Queen’s – she played brilliantly in her first doubles match with Victoria Mboko. She was very unfortunate not to be able to continue playing in the tournament.

“Venus has been on court a lot, played singles last year, so she’s not as rusty – but for Serena, the way she worked in matches – she put the years back.

“Absolutely thrilled to see him back on the court.”

Watch the ATP and WTA tours on Sky Sports or live Stream with NOW And The Sky Sports appSky Sports is giving subscribers access to more than 50 per cent of live games at no extra cost this year. Learn more here.