LONDON – Serena Williams said she was motivated to play at this year’s Wimbledon to ensure that her last memories of the championship do not go away injured, as she was forced to do in the first round last year.
Williams, 40, has not played a singles match since last year’s first-round match against Alexandra Sasnovich. There, she suffered a torn hamstring after slipping on the center court during the first set and had to withdraw injured.
He initially hoped to return in time for the US Open, but eventually had a long period away from the sport. But on June 14, she announced she would play at this year’s Wimbledon and returned to competitive tennis last week when she played doubles with the Ons Jabeur in Eastbourne.
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Williams opened her Wimbledon championship against Harmony Tan and said a big motivating factor for her race here was to create fresh memories of the place after suffering a broken heart from retiring last year.
“Yes, that was a lot of motivation, to be honest,” Williams said. “Since the end of the match, there has always been something that has always been in my mind. So that was a huge motivation for that.
“You never want a game to end like that. It’s really unfortunate.”
She added: “I felt that last year was difficult. I felt like I had been injured for most of the year. Then I tore my thigh. That was difficult. the whole experience was rough.
“At that time, I was still trying to make New York from there. I gave everything I could, just preparing every day or trying to do it. But then it’s as if I won’t succeed. I hung up my rockets for a while until I was able to heal. “
Despite her prolonged absence, Williams will not be attracted to her, outlining her specific expectations for this year’s Wimbledon. Asked what she hopes to achieve here, she replied: “I don’t know. I have high goals, but also … I don’t know. We’ll see. I won’t answer.”
The seven-time Wimbledon singles champion aims to secure the No. 1 title. 24 of the Grand Slam singles at this year’s championship, but despite her year of absence, she always hoped to return for another chance at fame. She decided to compete before the French Open, but remained silent until this post on Instagram.
“I didn’t retire,” Williams said. “I just had to heal physically, mentally. And yes, I had no plans, to be honest. I just didn’t know when I would be back. I didn’t know how I would return.
“Obviously Wimbledon is a great place and it just worked out.
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