Serena Williams’s return to the sport might have been one of the worst kept secrets in tennis this year, but her decision to play Queen’s has floored fans.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion is set to play doubles alongside Victoria Mboko at the London event, with many predicting it could be a precursor to a Wimbledon appearance.
Williams has not played competitive tennis since losing to Ajla Tomljanovic at the 2022 US Open, and many are very happy to see her return to the sport.
She announced the return with a social media video with the caption: “Good news travels fast” and the ending message of: “Guess everybody heard the news.”
The post, which has been liked by Alexandra Eala, has garnered several high-profile reactions from some of the biggest names in the sport.
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World No. 6 Coco Gauff is the most established current tennis star to share her reaction to Williams’ return in the comments. She simply wrote “Dreams come true” with an emotional emoji attached.
Elsewhere, the likes of Caroline Wozniacki, Andy Roddick’s Served podcast, and the Lawn Tennis Association also left comments on the social media post.
So too did Wimbledon’s official account, which will do nothing to dispell the rumours of the star returning to the Grand Slam for the first time in four years.
“Serena back on the grass,” wrote the Grand Slam about her Queen’s return, which takes place in the same city just two weeks before Wimbledon.
It should be no surprise that Gauff has reacted so emotionally to the news that Williams is returning, because she is yet to face the icon in her career.
Gauff and Venus Williams played two matches previously, in 2019 and 2020, at Wimbledon and the Australian Open, both of which were won by the younger star.
She has often named her one of her heroes, so it would not be a surprise to see Gauff enter the Queen’s doubles, or hold out for Wimbledon, in the hopes that she could face Williams now she has returned.
Speaking at Roland Garros, Gauff said: “I did say one of my biggest regrets was not being able to play her.
“Everybody’s been hearing rumors and stuff, so if they are true, I guess we’ll find out in a couple of days based off the rumours,” she added. “We’ll see. But I think it would be for the sport to have a legend back playing.”
Williams and Mboko will find out their first Queen’s opponents at the end of the week once the draw for the grass court London event is made.
The post Coco Gauff reacts as Serena Williams announces tennis return appeared first on Tennis365.
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