Serena Williams will play doubles at next week’s Queen’s Club Championships, making her return to professional tennis.
After Queen’s, Williams is expected to play in Berlin, having requested a wild card for the doubles event.
Then, she will likely travel back to London for Wimbledon.
How excited are you to watch Serena Williams play on the WTA Tour once again? 🐐
Former Grand Slam finalist Greg Rusedski has now said whether he believes Williams can win Wimbledon or any other major tournaments when she returns.
Greg Rusedski isn’t convinced Serena Williams can win a Grand Slam title in singles
During the latest episode of ‘Off Court Cuts‘, Rusedski discussed Williams’ Slam chances.
“In doubles, yeah!” he said.
“In singles, I’m not so sure; you’ve got to see it to believe it.
“She’s 44 years young; she’s been advertising a weight loss drug that obviously gets your body changed completely.
“I don’t know about singles; we will only find out after we see her play.
“If the serve is firing, great, but you also have to have the movement, and it depends on how the conditions are, are they going to be hot or are they going to be cold?
“It’s one thing to say you’re going to win Slams, but at 44 years young, it’s hard to do so.
“Doubles, I’ll give it an idea; singles, I’m not so sure.
“But never discount a great champion, as I always say. And Serena [Williams] is the G.O.A.T. in the ladies’ game, and people are excited about her coming back.”
Rusedski isn’t convinced that Williams can win a Grand Slam singles title at 44.
“She’s got to win one match first; let’s see what the tennis is like,” he said.
“We can’t be disrespectful to the rest of the [tour].
“Look at [Aryna] Sabalenka, the way she’s stepping up right now, [Marta] Kostyuk, [Mirra] Andreeva… When you’ve been away from the game that long, it’s not easy.
“Unfortunately, with age, we don’t get faster; we get slower!
“The last mum to do it was Kim Clijsters; let’s see how it goes.
Grand Slams Kim Clijsters won as a mother
- 2009 US Open
- 2010 US Open
- 2011 Australian Open
“I’m not going to get over the top on this. I’m not going to say she’s going to win a Slam; can she win two, three matches? Yes. But it’s doing it back-to-back-to-back-to-back…
“And that’s why she’s coming back at Wimbledon, because she thinks she can get some cheap, short points, and if I can serve well, I get first strike tennis.
“The jury is still out in my opinion, but I’m happy to eat my words if I’m wrong.
“If I’m wrong, it will be one of the greatest stories in sports history.”
Williams may dream of winning a Slam, but is taking the smart approach, playing warm-up events on grass, focusing on doubles.
If she can build fitness and match sharpness, who knows what she may achieve at Wimbledon?
What happened the last time Serena Williams played Wimbledon?
Williams has unfinished business at the All England Club, despite winning seven singles titles during her illustrious career.
On her final visit, she played the Frenchwoman, Harmony Tan.
Tan, the world number 115, had never been on a stage as big as Wimbledon’s Centre Court, but wasn’t overawed by the occasion.
She won a tight first set 7-5, but was soon pegged back by the 23-time Grand Slam champion.
Williams won the second 6-1, forcing a decider.
They required a tiebreak at the end of the third set, which Tan won 10-7.
Williams lost her final match at Wimbledon in three sets against a player ranked outside the world’s top 100.
Or at least, we thought that was her final match.
The 44-year-old now has an opportunity to return to winning ways at one of her favourite tournaments.
Williams will likely be given a wild card into the main draw, where she could play literally anyone in the first round.
Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek? They could all take on Williams on Centre Court this summer.
If you’re not excited by that, this might not be the sport for you!
The 2026 Wimbledon Championships begin on Monday, June 29.
