Watch: Serena Williams back in training, shares video of intense practice session
Serena Williams has been sidelined since the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, where she was forced to retire in the very first round against Aliaksandra Sasnovich. The American sustained a hamstring injury midway through the first set and was forced to withdraw.
Ten months have passed since then and the 23-time Grand Slam champion has still not made her return. Williams had originally hoped to be fit in time for the Australian Open at the beginning of the year, but her comeback has been pushed back many a time in the last few months.
With fans wondering whether they will ever get to see the 40-year-old on a tennis court again, the former World No. 1 decided to serve up the best possible news on Thursday. In an Instagram video, Serena Williams can be seen training more intensely than ever before.
SHE IS COMING https://t.co/IuyThC9l37
Bouncing around on a hardcourt, the American hit a series of delicious forehands and backhands before staring intently at the camera, perhaps implying that her comeback is on the horizon.
Serena Williams needs one more Grand Slam title to equal Margaret Court's all-time record
Thanks to her 10-month hiatus, Serena Williams has fallen to World No. 248 in the WTA rankings. She will slip further down the rankings after the French Open, where she is defending points from her run to the fourth round last year.
With 23 Grand Slam singles titles to her name, the American is just one short of Margaret Court's all-time record of 24.
At the beginning of the week, I sat down with one of the greatest tennis players of all time @serenawilliams in Paris.
I asked Serena whether she thinks she can still match Margaret Court's record 24 Grand Slam singles titles. "I'm not giving up," she tells me. https://t.co/0zrMCGlRIN
She is unlikely to compete at Roland Garros, where she will need a wildcard. But Williams could be back in time for Wimbledon. The 23-time Grand Slam champion has lifted the trophy at SW19 seven times till date, in 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016.
If not Wimbledon, the American should be back at the US Open at the end of August. She is a six-time champion at Flushing Meadows, having triumphed in 1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2014.