23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams made her much anticipated comeback on Saturday, four months after giving birth to her daughter Alexis Olympia.
Serena, a former World No. 1 wasn’t as smooth and sharp while moving on the court when she took on reigning French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in an exhibition encounter in Abu Dhabi on Saturday afternoon. Although, she did win a set against the Latvian, Serena clearly wasn’t at her best and she acknowledged that it wouldn’t so easy to regain both her peak fitness and form especially right after maternity leave.
The 36-year-old revealed that she was yet to make her mind regarding her participation in next month’s Australian Open. Serena, who is the defending champion in Melbourne, could equal Margaret Court’s all-time record of the most Grand Slam singles titles ever won by a player by winning the trophy for the 8th time after her triumphs in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015 and 2017.
“It was good to be back out there. I missed playing, I missed the competition, I missed the crowd, the atmosphere so much. It was really nice to be back,” said Serena after the match.
“I don’t know if I am totally ready to come back on the Tour yet. I know that when I come back I definitely want to be competing for championships,” the American said, refusing to confirm her participation in 2018’s first Grand Slam, the Australian Open, which gets underway in Melbourne from January 15.
“I don’t know, but I am definitely looking forward to getting back out there.
“I am taking it one day at a time. I am going to assess everything with Patrick (Mouratoglou, her coach) and my team,” she said.
