It’s a big topic. Probably the biggest on the women’s circuit. American Serena Williams is returning to the game this week in Eastbourne after a break of almost a year. While experts speculate in what form a 40-year-old tennis veteran may be, Czech Marie Bouzková would like to ruin the famous comeback.
When the 23-time Grand Slam champion limped prematurely from the first round of Wimbledon last year, no one could have guessed that it would take almost 12 months to reappear on the court.
Williams took a long break, during which she broke up with longtime coach Patrick Mouratoglou. It wasn’t until last week that she announced on social media that she was returning to action on the grass to catch Wimbledon again.
As a warm-up general, she cuts a doubles alongside Tunisian Ons Jabur in Eastbourne.
“My coach and new Serena coach Eric Hechtman know each other, so they agreed. I was excited, she was always my role model. We’ve only spoken a few times so far, I was surprised that such a player even knows my name,” Jaburova said. hear for Rocket magazine.
The fresh world number three is in great shape, winning the tournament in Berlin over the weekend. But a double next to the former number one will be a much bigger challenge. They never even trained together.
“I had some sparring with Venus, but never with Serena. Maybe we can do it in Eastbourne before the match,” the Tunisian wishes.
Williams’ comeback baked so fast that no one really knows how the American tennis player is at the moment. There is a lot of debate among experts about whether the winner of 73 tournaments will not be embarrassed after such a long outage.
“I’m not really optimistic, of course. She’s a Serena, of course, she can always be a threat, but the question is if she’s really training and fit,” said Patrick McEnroe, a former tennis player and younger brother of the more famous John.
The Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli does not want to hear about the doubts at all. “I don’t understand where such negative statements come from. We all remember Roger Federer’s comeback in 2017. I am convinced that if she is healthy, she can go a long way,” said the former Wimbledon champion.
Williams’ Swiss peer won three more grand slams after a knee injury. Williams has the motivation to get her 24th to call Margaret Court’s record.
For Wimbledon he got a wild card in singles, in Eastbourne he will try to warm up in doubles. But nothing easy awaits them with Džabúrova, in the first round they meet the Czech Republic Maria Bouzková, who is the partner of the Spanish Sara Sorribesová Tormová.
In recent months, the Czech Republic has risen not only in singles but also in doubles, currently it is ranked 28th in the world. They won a business in Istanbul with their Spanish partner in April.
