Serena Williams did not enjoy the fairytale return to tennis that she would have hoped for, and yet it was still a true spectacle to see her back on court.
Competing under the floodlights of Wimbledon’s Centre Court, the stage was perfect for her singles return, which culminated in a hard-fought three-set defeat to Maya Joint.
Sadly, injury curtailed her hopes of playing doubles, and all of a sudden the magic of the 44-year-old’s return has devolved into fears over her fitness during this busy summer of tennis in North America.
There is still so much fans want to see from Serena Williams, not least to hopefully have her meet one of the current top players on the WTA Tour.
Who is the most underrated player in women’s tennis right now?
Aryna Sabalenka, as the top-ranked female player, would be the kind of mouth-watering opponent for the American that many are craving.
Discussing her recently, Williams had nothing but positive things to say about the Belarusian.
Serena Williams states what she loves about Aryna Sabalenka
Speaking at Fanatics Fest in Manhattan, whilst Novak Djokovic discussed Andre Agassi’s recent comments about his retirement, Williams was elsewhere.
She was discussing the current state of the WTA Tour, namely those at the apex.
Settling on Sabalenka, the 23-time Grand Slam champion was full of praise for the current world’s best player, admitting: “Sabalenka is No 1 and she’s such a spitfire and she really gives her all when she’s out there. I see myself in that and so I love that, I love that about her.
“And when she loses, she’s mad and I wasn’t allowed to express myself, my anger [when I was playing], but I love how she is allowed to show her anger. I love it.”
This comes months after Sabalenka said if she felt she could beat Serena Williams, way before her comeback was confirmed.
When will Serena Williams be back playing again?
News over the fitness of one of the sport’s greatest-ever players has been in short supply since Williams’ injury at Wimbledon ruled her out of playing doubles with her sister, Venus.
However, there have been some tidbits of information that have kept fans at bay, with the latest coming after the Canadian Open released a statement about Serena and the likelihood of her playing at their event.
Then, in a recent TikTok, she videoed herself dancing with a caption that read: “Looks like my knee is finally getting better. Finally!”
What do you think about Serena Williams’ behaviour at Wimbledon this year?
She skipped her post-match press conference and didn't have the warmest handshake with Maya Joint…
That being said, she is totally absent from the WTA players’ lists for upcoming tournaments in Washington, D.C., Canada or Cincinnati.
It is the US Open she will be targeting, and if that means sacrificing all events before it, then Williams will gladly make that trade.
