Serena Williams excited to switch to grass, but admits she is unlikely to play Wimbledon warm-up events

Shahida Jacobs
June 7, 2021

Serena Williams is looking forward to switching from clay to grass, but the chances of her playing again before Wimbledon are pretty remote.

The 23-time Grand Slam winner exited the French Open on Sunday as she went down 6-3, 7-5 against 21st seed Elena Rybakina in the last 16.

Serena Williams slips out of French Open contention as Elena Rybakina sends her packing

Williams, who was playing in only her seventh match since the Australian Open in February, had struggled throughout the clay-court season as she lost in the opening round of the Italian Open and the second round of the WTA 250 tournament in Parma.

But her attention now moves to the grass-court campaign and many believe Wimbledon will be her best shot of winning a 24th major.

Williams, though, is unlikely to play in any of the WTA events in the lead-up to The Championships, which starts on June 28.

“I’m kind of excited to switch surfaces, but historically I have done pretty well on grass,” the seven-time Wimbledon winner said.

“I have done pretty well on clay too. Just not this particular season.”

She added: “I don’t think I’m going to play a warm-up [event].”

ESPN analyst Pam Shriver feels Williams might have an edge over the younger generation following the cancellation of the grass-court season last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Wimbledon was always going to be a better surface for her and a place where she had a better chance to make a run,” she told ESPN.

“There’s an advantage this year more than ever for her because she’s played so much on grass during her career, while the younger players are really going to be lacking the experience.”

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Serena Williams