Serena Williams’ sensational return to tennis is in full swing as she has arrived on the practice courts of Queen’s ahead of her first match.
Williams is set to play doubles alongside Victoria Mboko at the London event, marking her first professional tennis match since the 2022 US Open.
The American icon has also been confirmed to play in Berlin ahead of Wimbledon, with many expecting the star to receive a wildcard to the grass court Grand Slam.
However, after her first practice session at Queen’s, many fans have shared their concern for Williams’ level ahead of her first match with Mboko.
Williams hit the court at Queen’s and the LTA uploaded the entire session to YouTube for fans to get a glimpse of the 23-time Grand Slam champion.
Many fans were worried about what they saw, highlighting Williams’ movement as a real cause for concern before her professional return.
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“She has plenty of power in her strokes and serve, but the true test will come from how well she moves in actual competition,” said one fan in the comments.
Another wrote: “The power is most definitely still there but Iam worried about the movement,” while one said: “The backhand doesn’t look good.”
Others questioned whether she is ready for a singles run, with rumours abounding about the star entering the main draw at Wimbledon.
“She should do well in doubles but will need to improve on movement for singles,” said another in the comments.
“We didn’t really see Serena move too much here,” said one concerned fan. “Obviously her ability to get in and out of the corners effectively will be a huge factor in singles.”
Another said: “Serena’s movement isn’t very good but that doesn’t matter for doubles,” while one simply concluded: “She is definitely not ready.”
Others outlined other key issues with Williams after watching the near-hour long practice session with Mboko and Grand Slam icon Rennae Stubbs.
“I’m happy to see her back but it will be difficult for her to go across the court for hours in a match because her fitness is not where it was years ago. Her strength will be important as her speed is reduced,” said one fan.
“This hitting session was not impressive to me,” concluded another. “She looks low energy, slow, and not particularly sharp. Hardly moving her feet, hitting off her back leg most of the time. I would expect her to look sharp and ready to go for a comeback, but this did not look good in my opinion.”
The Queen’s doubles event is set to begin on June 8th, so fans will be able to see if there’s concerns are valid upon the star’s return.
The post Serena Williams causes real concern after first practice at Queen’s appeared first on Tennis365.
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