The long-awaited homecoming of Serena Williams began in a private tennis club in Eastbourne, surrounded by modest surroundings. Williams chose to maintain a low profile after announcing her return to tennis and arrived in the United Kingdom within days. She was absent even when the event began. She declined to hold any news conferences.
On Sunday, while she trained with Frances Tiafoe at Meads Tennis Club, her first spectators were passersby who happened to glance down at the club from the uphill road and were audibly shocked to see one of the world’s most recognized athletes peering up at them.
Williams visited the Eastbourne International grounds on Tuesday afternoon, and partnered with Ons Jabeur, she won her first match back after a yearlong off. The pair overcame a set and a breakdown to upset Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo 2-6, 6-3, 13-11 after a sluggish start.
Tuesday afternoon was the first time that Williams and Jabeur met as partners and exercised together, and it showed. Williams’s game was understandably tarnished after such an extended absence, while Jabeur, who has always played singles, is less confident on the doubles court. Early on, they were annihilated by their robust and aggressive opponents. But as the match progressed, Williams continued to improve. Her serve was at its most formidable, and she took the necessary strides around the ball to return it.
Williams served out the second set while behind by a service break. First, she unleashed an angled backhand passing shot winner while on the move, punctuating it with an extended grunt, and then she closed the door with a ruthless ace.
As the tie-break began, Williams awoke and was rock solid from the baseline, but it was Jabeur who landed the deciding point, feathering a magnificent drop shot winner to bring the crowd to its feet before they won. As they rejoiced, Jabeur and Williams urged the spectators to take at the moment by pointing at each other.
Jabeur remarked, “I had so much fun!” “I was apprehensive before playing with such a legend, yet she inspired me to perform well on the court, even when I made mistakes.
This is a step in the right direction for Williams, but his future remains uncertain. She has not competed for 51 weeks since injured her hamstring in the first round of Wimbledon last year, forcing her to withdraw from the tournament. Over the past year, she has stayed in the public eye, but her 40-year-old absence from the tour prompted many to question whether she had competed for the final time.
She, too, has had similar feelings. She stated, “I’m taking it one day at a time.” I took my time recovering from my hamstring injury, so I won’t be making many decisions in the future.
When pressed on whether she will return to the tour in 2023 if her body is well, her uncertainty about the future was evident. “I’m not sure. I cannot respond to that. If I didn’t enjoy tennis and playing, I wouldn’t be here, right? But I enjoy my work off the court and what I’ve accomplished with Serena Ventures. It’s intriguing, therefore it’s a great deal.”
As she nursed her hamstring injury and eventually separated herself from the sport, Williams said that she had questioned her ability to play for the past year: “I would be dishonest if I claimed I wasn’t. Now, my body feels wonderful. As it is a doubles match, I am only playing half the court. I’ve been doing a great deal of training, and it feels great.”
She has returned to defend her 24th grand slam championship. This was only the beginning, her first tentative steps back into the sport after such a lengthy absence; it remains to be seen where she will go from here.
In Eastbourne, Tuesday was a fantastic day for British players. Katie Boulter, a former top100 player attempting to return from several injuries, had the greatest victory of her career by defeating No. 7 Karolina Pliskova 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 to go to the round of 16. Jodie Burrage, ranked No. 169, defeated No. 4 in the world, Paula Badosa, 6-4, 6-3, to conclude the day.
Ryan Peniston maintained his breakout grass season by defeating eighth-seeded Holger Rune 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1.
