The start to the 2016 season has already seen glimmers of triumph and despair for world No.1 Serena Williams.
The American’s start to the year saw her withdraw from the Hopman Cup due to a left knee injury. As the doubts about Williams’ form continued, she reaffirmed her dominance in the game with a run to the final of the Australian Open without dropping a set. She was unable to complete her fairytale return to the main stage of tennis after being outplayed by a flawless Angelique Kerber in the final. Since her loss in Melbourne Williams hasn’t played a match on the WTA Tour after being sidelined from action due to illness.
The 34-year-old will return to action at the BNP Paribas Open next week where she will be hoping to claim her first title since the Cincinnati Open last August. Speaking about her Melbourne final against Kerber, the 21-time Grand Slam champion hopes to use the loss as motivation for her.
“Whenever I lose, it definitely motivates me to do better,” Williams told Reuters.
“There’s a lot from that match (in Australia) that I feel like I can improve on and do a lot better. Hopefully I will achieve that this year.”
There is a busy year ahead for Williams, who will be defending her titles at the French Open and Wimbledon championships. She is also targeting success at the Rio Olympics in August. The American has an outstanding record in the Olympic Games with a quartet of gold medals (three from doubles and one from singles). Looking ahead to the games, the 34-year-old admitted that she wouldn’t be ‘playing as much’ in the week’s prior to the event to get herself prepared for the event.
“Tennis players never really thought about winning the Olympics, you grew up thinking about winning grand slams but now, with tennis in the Olympics, of course you think about it,” the world No.1 said.
“The Olympics have had such a big impact on everyone. It (the August Games) will probably affect my schedule a little bit and I probably won’t be playing as much because I will be in Rio. I am really looking forward to it.”
Williams also spoke about the potential Zika Virus threat at the Olympics. Admitting that it is something that she is worried about, the world No.1 said that wanted to read more about it. She is the latest player to speak about the virus. At the Rio Open, David Ferrer and Rafael Nadal dismissed the concerns.
Serena Williams 2016 Schedule
03/09/16 – 03/19/16 Indian Wells
03/20/16 – 03/31/16 Miami
05/02/16 -o 5/08/16 Madrid
05/09/16 – 05/15/16 Rome
05/23/16 – 06/05/16 Roland Garros
06/27/16 – 07/10/16 Wimbledon
07/25/16 – 07/31/16 Montreal
08/06/16 – 08/14/16 Olympic Games in Rio
08/28/16 – 09/11/16 US Open
09/26/16 – 10/02/16 Wuhan
10/03/16 – 10/09/16 Beijing
10/24/16 -10/30/16 Singapore
Source: Serenawilliams.com
