Serena Williams might eye Wimbledon for comeback, Novak Djokovic says

INDIAN WELLS – Novak Djokovic suggested on Wednesday that Serena Williams could see Wimbledon as the ideal venue to return to tennis, if the 23-time Grand Slam champion decides to make a comeback to the game later this season.

The 44-year-old American has not played since the 2022 US Open, after which she said she was "evolving away from tennis", but fuelled speculation about a potential return after re-entering the sport's anti-doping pool last year.

"I think she's coming back. I don't know. I haven't spoken to her, but I guess the sentiment is that she's coming back,” Djokovic told reporters at Indian Wells.

"I pick that one (Wimbledon) as well as her comeback, but I don't know. I think she might play a doubles tournament or two with Venus. That would be nice to see, just from my point of view and for tennis fans."

The Serb added that having one of the game's most dominant figures back in action would be a welcome sight, and that players were buzzing at the prospect.

“Everybody is excited, and it’s definitely something that’s very highly anticipated,” he added.

“She's one of the greatest athletes. It would be great to have her back.”

Tennis Channel analyst Prakash Amritraj said Williams would have to get some warm-up events under her belt before making a return at an event such as Wimbledon, where she won seven Grand Slam titles.

“Maybe there's a world where she is gearing up for Wimbledon,” he told Reuters.

"But I don't think she would just rock up and play it. She definitely needs to get some matches in before playing. So maybe there are some warm-up tournaments.

"And then on the lighter side, if she's doing it, I got my wish list card for Serena-Roger (Federer) mixed doubles at the US Open."

Williams’ former coach Rick Macci has also recently commented on the speculation and said her impressive training regimen pointed towards a comeback.

Djokovic, meanwhile, also said he sees no reason to retire from tennis given that he is still motivated to compete and capable of beating the best players in the world.

The 38-year-old defeated defending champion Jannik Sinner in a thrilling semi-final at the Australian Open in January before falling to world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the final, proving he is still a force on the sport’s biggest stages.

“It was an incredible feeling to be able to beat Sinner in five sets in one of the epic matches that I played in recent times in Australia, and then have another great match with Carlos, who was just too good in the end,” Djokovic said.

“For me, that has been a phenomenal result. So I have proven to myself primarily and to others that I can still compete at the highest level and beat these guys.

“So my logic is why not keep going as long as I have that fire and flair and quality and the motivation to do that?” REUTERS, AFP