Serena is 'not done yet' but unsure when she'll be ready to return to the tour

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  • Serena Williams admits she’s taking her comeback “one day at a time” and is uncertain when she will feel completely ready to return to the tour but assured she is “not done yet”.

    The American legend made her first public appearance on a match court since having her first child Alexis Olympia early September, by taking on Jelena Ostapenko at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

    Serena, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, lost 6-2, 3-6, [10-5] to the world No. 7, in what was her first match since winning the Australian Open 11 months ago.

    “It felt good to be back out there. I missed playing, I missed the competition, I missed the crowd, the atmosphere, it’s so much that you don’t see so it was really nice to be back out there,” the 36-year-old told reporters after the match.

    The 23-time Grand Slam winner showed glimpses of her best in UAE capital.

    It is the first time Serena travelled to a tournament with her baby and she confessed her mind wandered to her child while she was on the court.

    “It was definitely a new experience. It played out pretty well. In the middle of the match I looked over and I was like ‘is Olympia okay?’ Because usually I’m always with her,” said Serena.

    “So I don’t know how I’m going to be able to manage that, but maybe I’ll just always look over in the middle of a Grand Slam and be like ‘is Olympia okay?’ But when she gets older she’ll be able to actually come out to the matches.”

    That statement implies Serena is keen to return to the tour and continue playing until her daughter is old enough to show up to matches but the American was more reserved when discussing her imminent plans, particularly whether she plans on defending her Australian Open title in Melbourne in less than three weeks’ time.

    “I don’t know. I’m going to go and just assess what I want, and what I want to do and figure that out,” she said when asked where she was heading next after Abu Dhabi.

    When quizzed about whether she’ll play in Melbourne, the ex-world No. 1 said: “I’m taking it one day at a time. I’m going to assess everything with Patrick (Mouratoglou her coach) and my team and go from there.”

    Serena would not reveal exactly when she started training again. Against Ostapenko, she started moving better as the match went on, but she admits she still has a way to go.

    “I don’t know if I’m totally ready yet or not (to get back to the tour). When I come back, I definitely want to be competing for championships. Somebody asked me the other day when I started and I couldn’t remember, and I still can’t remember. I guess it’s kind of all a blur,” said Serena.

    “When you have the baby and you’re training, and then you go back to the baby, it’s been a while. I don’t know. But I definitely look forward to getting back out there.”


    While Serena may sound sceptical when discussing details about her return, she is clear about one thing — she is not done yet with the sport.

    “I think everything is so much easier for me to approach (my comeback) having my daughter at home waiting for me and knowing that yeah I’ve won 23 Grand Slam singles title, I don’t know how many other titles… I don’t have anything to prove but I just want to go out there and play. I’m not done yet, so…” she says.

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