Serena Williams is putting her Wimbledon injury behind her to once again step up her surprise return to tennis at the ripe old age of 44.
The American icon, who has 23 majors in an incredible career, has confirmed she will participate in the women’s doubles alongside her sister Venus, 46, at the upcoming Cincinnati Open.
Organizers of the event announced this week that the legendary pair have been given a wild-card entry into the doubles field of the event which takes place in Ohio next week.
Serena’s return to the court increases the possibility that she will appear at another US Open this year, with that tournament taking place in New York later this month.
Venus and Serena last played a doubles match together at the 2022 US Open, and this will be their first time teaming up in the hard-court tune-up tournament in Mason, Ohio.
The Williams sisters received a wild-card entry to play doubles at Wimbledon in June, but an injury to Serena prevented that from happening. They have won 14 major titles and three Olympic gold medals in doubles play.
Serena (left) and Venus (right) Williams, pictured in 2022, are returning to the court together
Serena played at Wimbledon but injury forced her to pull out of the doubles with sister Venus
Venus Williams, 46, is also set to play mixed doubles at the US Open later this month alongside Alexander Bublik.
Serena’s grass-court comeback earlier this year consisted of only three matches: a first-round win in the doubles at Queen’s with Victoria Mboko – after which they had to pull out because the 19-year-old Canadian suffered an MCL knee injury – a defeat in Berlin alongside Karolina Muchova, and then a 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 loss to Maya Joint on Centre Court in the Wimbledon first round.
It was in the latter of those matches that Serena suffered a knee injury which ended any hopes of her playing alongside Venus in the women’s doubles.
‘I’m heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles,’ she said in a post on Instagram. ‘Coming back to compete again has been a gift, and the opportunity to play alongside Venus once more meant the world to me. I did everything I could but unfortunately my knee just isn’t ready to compete.
At 44, a new-look Serena is making a surprise comeback to the top level of professional tennis
The superstar pair hug on the court after losing their first-round US Open match back in 2022
‘I’m especially grateful to tournament director, Jamie Baker, and the entire tournament team for giving me every opportunity to recover. Thank you to the fans for your incredible support and for making this comeback so meaningful…All I can say is stay tuned to a city near you…’
The post was accompanied by a video of the 23-time Grand Slam champion limping along with her right leg heavily bandaged, with her daughter Olympia playing with her walking stick.
There were also pictures of Williams receiving medical treatment, and Serena’s post added: ‘The photo of the syringes is the fluid they drained from my knee after my singles match – yikes! The good news is that my knee shouldn’t swell or collect that much fluid again. The bad news is that, as hard as I tried, I wasn’t able to be ready for doubles.’
There was a very mixed reaction to Serena’s decision to pull out, with some sympathetic and others furious that she had taken away other, younger, players’ opportunities to compete in the prestigious tournament.
