Serena Williams' last match on the tour was at last year's Wimbledon Championships; she suffered an ankle injury in the first round and was forced to retire; Williams also missed the Olympics, US Open and Australian Open due to injury; Wimbledon takes place from June 27 to July 10
Thursday 7 April 2022 23:17, UK
Serena Williams has hinted she could make her long-awaited return to court at Wimbledon, exactly a year since she last played on the tour at the same Grand Slam.
Williams, 40, suffered an ankle injury during her first-round match at the Championships last year. She was forced to retire from the match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich and left the court in tears.
She also missed the Olympics in Tokyo and the US Open in 2021 due to a hamstring injury, as well as the Australian Open earlier this year.
During an Instagram story with NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers at a Bitcoin conference in Miami, Williams said: "We've been talking about my comeback and he's been hyping me up and getting me ready for Wimbledon. Can't wait!"
When Rodgers asked her about a potential comeback at the US Open, she added: "Wimbledon's before the US Open, I've got to play Wimbledon first. Exciting!"
Wimbledon takes place from June 27 to July 10 this year and Williams has won the famous grass-court major seven times. Her last triumph came in 2016 and she made her debut in SW19 back in 1998.
The 40-year-old has been on the hunt for an elusive 24th major since winning her last Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open. As a result of her time out due to injuries, she has slipped back to 246th in the WTA rankings.
Williams has reached the final in four Grand Slams since giving birth to daughter Olympia in 2017 but lost in straight sets on each occasion.
Williams' coach Patrick Mouratoglou has announced he will be working with Simona Halep, after Williams "opened the door" for him.
Mouratoglou said he accepted Halep's offer to coach her full-time after receiving the approval of Williams, who he has coached for the last 10 years.
He will take up his new role with the Romanian in Madrid in May.
"In the last eight months I realised how much I've missed coaching," Mouratoglou said on Twitter. "It is the passion of my life and I still feel I have so much to give.
"Simona came to the Mouratoglou Academy before Indian Wells for a training block. I swung by at a few of her practices, watched her train.
"At the end of the week, she asked me if I was available to coach her. I have the highest respect for her but it was out of the question at the time.
"A few weeks later, I had a conversation with Serena and the door opened for me, at least short term, to work with someone else."
Halep, who was Wimbledon champion in 2019, announced her split with long-time coach Darren Cahill last September. She is now ranked 20 in the world.
