Serena Williams wants to play singles again before US Open, says coach
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Serena Williams returning to Maya Joint during their women's singles first-round Wimbledon match on June 30. She lost in three sets.
PHOTO: AFP
LONDON – Serena Williams wants to play singles tournaments before the US Open, unlike her preparation for Wimbledon, the American legend’s coach Rennae Stubbs said on July 7.
Williams, 44, played two doubles matches in preparation for her comeback to singles tennis at the All England Club, but lost in the first round last week.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion then had to withdraw from the doubles with sister Venus due to a knee injury suffered in the defeat by Australian Maya Joint.
“I’ll leave it to her to discuss her medical stuff and how she’s feeling. But I know that for her trying to play, certainly something before the US Open will be something she would like to do,” Stubbs told reporters at Wimbledon.
“She doesn’t want to go and do what she did here, which was just play singles at the US Open, but at the same time it’s going to depend on physically how she’s doing.”
There are WTA 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati ahead of the US Open, which starts on Aug 30.
Serena, who returned after almost four years away from professional tennis, has not confirmed her next steps.
“She’s got a lot of things to consider, her family, her businesses. But her goal is to keep going,” insisted Stubbs, who expected her to find life easier on hard courts, the surface on which she has won 13 major singles titles.
“Getting on the hard court will be a lot more stable for her. And we all know how well she plays on hard court,” Stubbs said.
“So it’s just a matter of getting her body back into the shape she wants. And then we’ll see.”
Meanwhile, Serena’s compatriot Coco Gauff reached the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time after a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over another American Jessica Pegula on July 7.
Asked for her thoughts, the 22-year-old said: “Honestly, pretty insane. Considering I hadn’t won a match on grass in two years before this tournament.
“I’m definitely just really happy with how I played today.
“Jess is an incredible opponent and person, playing against her is never easy. I’m just happy to get through this one today.”
Gauff will meet either a resurgent Naomi Osaka or rising Czech Karolina Muchova next.
On July 7, defending men’s singles champion Jannik Sinner also reached the semi-finals after a 7-5, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 win over Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany.
Standing in his way of a second appearance in the final will either be Novak Djokovic or Felix Auger-Aliassime.
On July 6, Sinner’s compatriots Flavio Cobolli and Jasmine Paolini reached the quarter-finals, while British fans uncorked the champagne after Arthur Fery outlasted fellow wild card Grigor Dimitrov.
After losing the Roland Garros final to Alexander Zverev, Cobolli continued his fine Grand Slam form by beating Australian fifth seed Alex de Minaur 7-5, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 on a blazing afternoon on Court One.
The ninth seed kept his cool in tense moments and unleashed his big shot-making to see off his determined opponent and then looked to beat the heat with some ice cream.
Paolini ended crowd favourite Alexandra Eala’s trailblazing run with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory over the Filipina on Centre Court to stay on track for another deep run after her 2024 runner-up finish.
The 13th seed’s Wimbledon participation was hampered due to a foot injury that has dogged her season, but she said she was rediscovering her joy for tennis again at a venue where she has enjoyed great support.
Paolini will face another big test when she meets Ukrainian 12th seed Marta Kostyuk, who began the eighth day’s proceedings with a 6-4, 6-4 win over American qualifier Ashlyn Krueger on Court Two, as the heat began to make life uncomfortable.
After a heatwave last week, which broke British records for June at around 37 deg C, the second week of the tournament is forecast to see temperatures climb again beyond 30 deg C.
Local fans were in for a treat in the evening when Fery fought past Dimitrov 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-7) in nearly four hours to continue his extraordinary journey as the last remaining Briton in the singles draw. AFP, REUTERS
