Serena Williams delayed a decision on whether to make her comeback at Wimbledon to the last minute, mindful she might not yet be ready to deliver at the highest level yet in tennis.
But her tennis peers have paid tribute to the 44-year-old legend for accepting a wildcard for this year’s tournament — even if those in the women’s singles draw are terrified at the prospect of facing her.
The American legend, who took a shot at anti-doping laws after former champion Marketa Vondrousova was recently banned for four years, admitting to being nervous ahead of her comeback match against Aussie Maya Joint on Tuesday.
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Williams’ first singles match since a loss to Australian Ajla Tomljanovic at the US Open in 2022 has been scheduled for the final match on Centre Court on Tuesday.
“I thought it is not every day Wimbledon holds a wildcard for someone,” she said.
“I can name probably a handful of people. I happened to be one of those people. I thought I should really take this opportunity. Who knows if I will ever make it here again? This could be it.
“I was like, ‘What’s wrong with you, Serena? What are you thinking? Are you nuts? Like, you should really do this.’
“People live to be an athlete. I have this great opportunity to showcase what I can do, what I do best, I suppose. I think, ultimately, I was like ‘That is pretty cool, so I should do it.’”
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Serena Williams announces comeback | 01:24
World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka would not commit to a prediction on how long Williams will last at Wimbledon this year but is fascinated to see the American in action.
“I don’t know how far (she will go but) I’m super excited to see her play,” she said. “That’s incredible. I heard she said she’s doing that for her kids to see her play. They really get excited about that. It’s amazing what she’s doing.
“Also it’s Serena Williams, everyone was talking about that. She’s bringing more eyes to tennis. It’s a good thing for tennis. I’m really excited to see her play.”
Dual-major champion Coco Gauff created headlines when upsetting Venus Williams at Wimbledon when aged 15 and said she tried to block out anything to do with her opponent.
Her advice to Joint would be to do anything but look at the scoreboard.
“When I was in that position, I didn’t look at the scoreboard the whole match. I did not want to see Venus’ name,” she said.
“No matter how much you try to block it out, I feel like once you see the name, it makes everything seem real. Maybe don’t look at the scoreboard. Also you have to go in with the belief you can win and expect that they’re going to play great tennis now.
“It’s different. We haven’t seen Serena play in many years, so there’s not really much a scouting report you can go off of. I definitely think she has to go in it believing she can win.
“We haven’t seen her play. I don’t know how the match is going to be. Anyone playing a Williams sister … it’s not going to be easy.”
Roland Garros champion Mirra Andreeva, who is 25 years younger than the American, grew up watching Williams in action but never expected to be in the same draw.
She is not envious of the task facing Joint, saying she would feel extremely nervous if she was pitted against the 23-time major winner.
“Honestly, I would never think of that. Of course, I was watching her matches when I was younger, and of course I was following what she does and cheering for her when she would win those Grand Slams,” Andreeva said.
“When I arrived on-site and I was warming up for my practice, they were doing the draw ceremony. I was watching like this because I don’t think anyone in the draw would have wanted to play against Serena. I’m going to speak for myself. I wouldn’t want to play against Serena. I would be just very nervous.
“But I just think that it’s amazing that she came back. She came back for doubles, but now she’s going to play singles as well. I don’t know. It’s incredible to see.”
There are questions as to whether Williams, who is working with former Australian doubles star Rennae Stubbs, will be able to recapture her best form 27 years after her triumph at the US Open in 1999.
But Novak Djokovic said having an icon return to centre stage was never a bad thing.
“First and foremost, what she’s doing is inspirational and it’s epic. That’s what I told her. I always admired her career, her journey, her story. Of course, Venus’s (career) as well,” he said.
“For her to come back after years of being absent from the tour, two children later, and to give so much effort to, not just for her own satisfaction or coming back on the tour, but also to give all of us a pleasure of seeing her back on the court – in singles as well as doubles – is remarkable. I told her that whatever happens, what she’s doing is truly inspirational for me personally, I’m sure for millions around the world.
“I see her in the gym more than I have, I think, seen her when she was at her prime. It tells me that she really wants this to work out the best way possible. It’s admirable, honestly, the effort she’s putting in. Of course, all eyes are on her, her comeback. I just hope that she will enjoy it because she really deserves it. She created something historical, legendary in her career. She deserves every applause she’s going to get.”