Serena Williams’ long-awaited return began in the humble, quiet environment of a private tennis club in Eastbourne. After arriving in the UK within days of announcing his return to tennis, Williams chose to keep a low profile. She stayed off the field even when the tournament started. She declined to hold any press conferences.
While she was training with Francis Tiafo on Sunday at the Meads Tennis Club, her first spectators were passers-by who casually glanced at the club from the hilly road and saw one of the world’s most famous athletes staring at them to their sonic shock.
On Tuesday afternoon, Williams finally entered the Eastbourne International field and together with Ons Jaber returned with a victory in his first match after a one-year break. After a rusty start, the pair recovered from a set and a break to beat Marie Buzkova and Sara Soribes Tormo 2-6, 6-3, 13-11.
It wasn’t until Tuesday afternoon that Williams and Jaber met as partners and trained together for the first time, and it showed. Aspects of Williams’ game were naturally covered in rust after such a long hiatus, and Jabeur, in the singular form of his life, is less secure on the doubles court. They were flattened early by their solid, assertive opponents. But as the game endured, Williams kept improving. Her serve went to great and those important little steps around the ball came back.
After a break, Williams served the second set with a retro game. First, she unlocked a winner’s backhand shot at an angle as she ran, emphasizing her long grunt, then closed the door with a cool ace.
When the tie-break started, Williams had woken up and she was firm from the baseline, but it was Jaber who won the deciding point by playing a spectacular drop shot win to raise a match point and the audience on their feet before you I took it. As they celebrated, Jaber and Williams pointed at each other, begging the crowd to drink.
“It was so much fun,” Jaber said. “I was nervous before playing with such a legend, she made me good on the court, even when I made mistakes, she kept encouraging me.”
Katie Boulter amazes Carolina Pliskova, who was a runner-up at Wimbledon 2021. Photo: Mike Hewitt / Getty Images
This is a step forward for Williams, but the future remains unclear. She has not competed in 51 weeks after slipping in the first round of last year’s Wimbledon and injuring her hamstring, which forced her to withdraw from the tournament. She has remained in the public eye for the past year, but her absence from the 40-year tour has led many to wonder if she has not competed for the last time.
Such thoughts were obviously on her mind. “I literally accept it day in and day out,” she said. “I really took some time with the thigh injury, so I just don’t make many decisions after that.”
Insisting that she return fully to the 2023 tour if her body is healthy, her indecision about her future was clear. “I don’t know. I can’t answer that. I love tennis and I love to play, otherwise I wouldn’t be here, would I? But I also love what I do off the court, what I built with Serena Ventures. It’s interesting, so is very.”
As she nursed her thigh and then retired from the sport, Williams admitted that there were moments in the past year when she wondered if she was still able to play: “I would be dishonest if I said I wasn’t. Now my body feels great. It’s doubles, I only play half the court. I trained a lot and I definitely feel good. “
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She returns for another attempt for her 24th Grand Slam title. This was just the beginning, her first small steps back in the sport after such a long break, but it remains to be seen where she will go.
Tuesday was a great day for the British players in Eastbourne. Katie Boulter, a former player in the top 100 who is still struggling to recover from various injuries, achieved the biggest victory of her career, beating 7th Carolina Pliskova 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals. Jodi Burridge at number 169 ended the day, upsetting Paula Badosa, the world № 4, 6-4, 6-3.
Ryan Penniston, meanwhile, continued his season on the grass, upsetting Holger Rune, 8th, placed 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1.
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