Serena Williams doesnt rule out singles return as she preps for tennis comeback at 44

As the tennis world prepares to welcome Serena Williams back to doubles competition, the 39-time Grand Slam champion overall is not ruling out a return to the singles bracket. “I can’t say no right now,” she told reporters after a training session with her Queen’s Club doubles partner, Victoria Mboko, on Sunday.“I feel like I probably need to train a little bit more if I want to play singles, and we will see if I get there, and if not … that’s not my journey right now.”Williams was granted a wild card for women’s doubles at the HSBC Championships in London. Monday will mark the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion’s first competitive tennis match since the third round of the 2022 U.S.

Open. She sits behind only Margaret Court’s 24 for the most ever by a woman.Williams and the Canadian Mboko are set to face Erin Routliffe of Australia and American Nicole Melichar-Martinez.While Williams never officially retired, the comeback comes as a bit of a shock to the mother of two, who announced her decision to “evolve away” from tennis in a personal essay published in Vogue in September of that year. Williams, who spent 319 weeks as the WTA No.1 at the peak of her career, is taking a low-pressure approach to her return. “I don’t need to win,” the seven-time Wimbledon singles champion said.

“I’ve won more than most people have in their whole lives, so it’s not that important to me, and it’s important that I keep reminding myself of that, because I don’t have anything to prove.“I don’t have anything to lose, and everything here is just to gain.”Despite denying a return to tennis as recently as December, Williams said she ultimately thought: “Why not?” Since her two daughters – Olympia and Adira – are older now, the 44-year-old expressed excitement over having her children experience her competing.  Williams noted that she saw something in Mboko that reminded her a lot of herself.After committing to the tournament,...