Serena Williams is on schedule to be ready to play Wimbledon in three weeks, according to her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou.
Williams’ participation came into doubt after she withdrew from her fourth round French Open match against Maria Sharapova because of a pectoral injury. Mouratoglou, however, said the four-week layoff between that match and opening day at SW19 will give the 23-time Grand Slam champion enough time to recover.
“Within two weeks she should recover and will be able to hit again,” Mouratoglou said. “Then she has 15 days to do a lot of fitness and improve her speed on court. She should be ready for Wimbledon.”
Williams’ ability to play in Paris was also in question after she struggled to immediately regain her fitness after returning from the birth of her first child. She withdrew from both Madrid and Rome before turning in a strong opening week at Roland Garros. She dropped just one set in three singles matches and reached the third round in doubles with her sister Venus Williams.
However, she injured her pectoral muscle against Julia Goerges in the third round, then exacerbated the issue in a doubles loss the next day.
“It was a great idea to not play that match against Maria because she couldn’t serve and it would have been difficult to win without serving,” Mouratoglou said. “Also because it would take an incredible risk to tear the muscle that was very close to being torn.”
The American has won Wimbledon seven times, including her last two appearances in 2015 and 2016. Though Williams is ranked No. 183 and it is unclear if she tournament organizers will seed her, Mouratoglou said he believes she has a strong chance to win.
“I think she is competitive, her level and fitness is back,” he said. “Plus at Wimbledon she will have the small advantage because she has the serve, which can take her out of bad situations.”
