I remember, as a teenager, watching Serena Williams win her first grand slam.
That US Open victory back in 1999, when the American was only 18 years old, saw her announce herself to the world and was her first major title in a career that witnessed her become, in most people’s estimations, the greatest female tennis player to ever live.
That US Open win feels like a lifetime ago. Yet, over a quarter of a century on Williams will return to competitive tennis. Next week, when she steps onto court at Queen’s Club, will be 31 years after she made her professional debut. Most of the other women in the draw won’t even have been born when Williams played her first professional match.
There have, of course, been breaks in those 31 years. Williams first period away from tennis came in 2017 as a consequence of her pregnancy with her eldest daughter. She returned to tennis remarkably soon after the birth, though, before retiring from tennis in 2022, although she refused to call it retirement, preferring instead to assert she was ‘evolving away from tennis', whatever that meant.
The rumours of a Serena Williams comeback began late last year, when it emerged that she’d added her name to the drug testing register (players can only compete if they have been in the anti-doping pool for six months or longer) and although she denied any plans to return to the tour, it was clear these were hollow denials.
And so, the predictions of a Williams return proved to be correct and next week, at the age of 44, Serena Williams will play professional tennis once again.
Her comeback will, initially, be in doubles, with her partner one of the rising stars of the women’s game, Canada’s Victoria Mboko. And while Williams hasn’t confirmed she’ll play Wimbledon, nor confirmed she’ll play singles again, it seems likely it’ll be a yes to both. The US Open in September looks to be on the cards, too.
There has been the level of excitement over Williams’ comeback that you’d expect - indeed, the New York Times called her return to the court “seismic”.
Her return is certainly notable; the fact that one of tennis’ biggest superstars is back on tour is certainly newsworthy. But seismic? Really?
I’m a huge tennis fan, and a huge Serena Williams fan. But even I’m finding it difficult to get excited by this comeback. Because really, what’s the point of this? What on earth could Williams have to gain by returning to tennis?
She’s in her mid-forties, has two young children and a career record that will not be bettered by any woman for a long, long time, if ever.
Given this, it’s hard to fathom what on earth she has to gain by returning to the professional game.
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Sporting comebacks are nothing new. The list of previously successful athletes who’ve retired before then returning is almost endless. What is far less common are those athletes whose comebacks can be considered a success. There are, of course, a few who’ve had similar, or even greater levels of success second time around. But those individuals are complete anomalies. And Serena Williams is, unequivocally, not going to add her name to that list. This comeback, I can confidently predict, will not result in a 25th grand slam title for Williams and, frankly, I’d be surprised if she even gets anywhere near the second week of a grand slam.
Countless sportspeople struggle to function when their existence as a professional athlete is a removed. No more routine, no more fawning crowds, no more adrenaline rushes and no more feelings of elation following a victory, all of which are unmatched in ‘normal’ life. There’s not many former athletes who can truthfully say they’ve found a career post-sport that’s given them the same rush of emotions, the same highs and the same feelings of contentment that sport gave them.
But not being able to replicate those feelings post-athlete life still doesn’t mean that coming back is a good idea. If you’re a betting person, which I’m not, I’d suggest there’s a greater chance of Williams being humiliated on this comeback, particularly if she ventures onto a singles court, than it being a resounding success.
The women’s game, while unable to produce a superstar of Serena Williams proportions since her retirement, has moved on significantly and there are a lot of players who will, I would bet, have more than enough in their locker to beat a 44-year-old Serena Williams who’s not played a competitive match for nearly four years.
Williams has, of course, every right to return to tennis. When you’ve achieved as much as she has, she’s perfectly entitled to make as many comebacks as she wants. And given her history, there’s little doubt that the interest is there to see her return.
But being entitled to return, and it being a good idea are two entirely different things.
There is, too, the underlying unease about the motivation for Williams’ return. Since hanging up her racquet in 2022, she’s talked openly about taking, as well as commercially advertised, GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. Williams choosing to take this medication came as a blow to many given that as a player, the American was one of the greatest role models for young girls when it came to body positivity. During her career, Williams showed, unapologetically, that to be successful in sport one didn’t need to be stick thin and that people with a body shape which differed from the ‘norm’ can become not just great athletes, but the greatest of athletes. Williams admission that she has succumbed to the pressure to lose weight is unsettling, to say the least. And most worryingly, Williams appears to be positioning her weight loss (thanks to the GLP-1s) as a prominent part of her comeback story.
Within days, we’ll have an idea of how close to her best Williams is as she begins this comeback and within weeks, we’ll have an idea of how able she is to deal with this current generation of tennis players.
Every time Williams steps foot on court in this comeback, there will, justifiably, be considerable interest from both the media and the public. Bet generating interest and getting results are two very different things and Williams will, I fear, only manage to do the former successfully.
