Serena Williams was given a wild card entry to Wimbledon this year. She will face France바카라s Harmony Tan in her first-round encounter.
Serena Williams joked 바카라 or was it a joke? 바카라 that she activated the 바카라Out of office바카라 message on her email account so anyone trying to reach her about her many non-tennis activities while she바카라s at Wimbledon would know why no response arrived immediately. (More Tennis News)
Great as Williams is with a racket in her hand, successful as she바카라s been, her sport has never been the only activity that interested her or occupied her time.
All of which might very well be a factor in why, just shy of 41, she is still in the game, returning to singles action for the first time in a year, and was smiling and chuckling occasionally while taking questions Saturday in the All England Club바카라s main interview room during a pre-tournament news conference.
바카라A little surreal,바카라 the 23-time Grand Slam champion said, 바카라sitting here again.바카라 She hasn바카라t competed in singles since she injured 바카라 바카라ripped바카라 was the verb the American used 바카라 her right hamstring during the opening set of her first-round match at Centre Court in 2021. That disappointing exit provided 바카라a tremendous amount of motivation,바카라 she said.
바카라I didn바카라t retire. I just needed to heal physically, mentally. And I had no plans, to be honest. I just didn바카라t know when I would come back. I didn바카라t know how I would come back,바카라 Williams said. 바카라Obviously, Wimbledon is such a great place to be, and it just kind of worked out.바카라
No one else knew until recently when, or whether, Williams would play again, a not-insignificant matter, considering what a transcendent figure she is. She wouldn바카라t say whether this will be her last appearance at the All England Club, offering simply: 바카라I can only tell you that I바카라m here. Who knows where I바카라ll pop up next?바카라
The seven-time Wimbledon singles champion made a brief appearance this week in doubles at a grass-court event in Eastbourne, but Tuesday바카라s outing against Harmony Tan will be a much bigger deal. Williams said she decided to play Wimbledon 바카라some time ago,바카라 saying she made up her mind before the French Open, which began on May 22.
Williams, a former No. 1 now ranked outside the WTA바카라s top 1,200 and allowed into the Wimbledon field via a wild-card invitation, practiced on Centre Court on Friday. She arrived for her session just as current No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who is on a 35-match winning streak, wrapped up hers.
바카라I was pretty overwhelmed. ... I didn바카라t know how to react perfectly. I wanted to meet her. I saw that she had so many people around her. I don바카라t know her team. It was pretty weird,바카라 Swiatek said, likening the feeling to when she was younger and 바카라too shy to say 바카라Hi바카라 to anybody.바카라
바카라Just seeing her around is great, because she바카라s such a legend,바카라 Swiatek continued. 바카라There바카라s nobody that has done so much in tennis.바카라 Williams has done plenty outside of tennis, too.
That includes forays into business with investment firm Serena Ventures and entertainment via past acting roles and by joining her older sister, Venus 바카라 a seven-time major singles champion not entered in Wimbledon this year 바카라 as executive producers for 바카라King Richard,바카라 the film about their father that was nominated for five Academy Awards.
바카라A part of me feels like that is a little bit more of my life now than tournaments. ... I absolutely love what I do. I love investing in companies,바카라 Williams said. 바카라And then the Oscars was really fun. ... At best, you think of winning Grand Slams, not being nominated for an Oscar for a film that you produce.바카라
This is hardly her first comeback after time away because of operations, other health problems and having a baby. Williams also never was someone who entered every possible tournament, even when physically fine.
바카라I never played as much as the next player throughout my whole career. I think that was all subconscious, me taking care of myself and knowing how to take care of myself,바카라 she said. 바카라A lot of people have to learn that. I think that was something that my parents built into me.바카라
Williams did not answer every query put to her by reporters on Saturday.
She avoided topics such as the U.S. Supreme Court decision Friday that stripped away women바카라s constitutional protections for abortion (바카라I don바카라t have any thoughts that I바카라m ready to share right now바카라), the All England Club바카라s ban on players from Russia and Belarus because of the war in Ukraine (바카라I바카라m going to step away from that바카라) or what it feels like to be without former coach Patrick Mouratoglou (바카라I didn바카라t even think about it바카라).
But ever the competitor, ever the perfectionist, Williams was prepared when someone wanted to know what she would consider a good outcome for her at Wimbledon. 바카라You know the answer to that,바카라 she said, punctuating her reply with a laugh and a roll of her eyes. 바카라Come on, now.바카라