Comeback has been harder than expected, admits Serena Williams

Serena Williams has admitted that her return to tennis has been a tougher journey than expected. 

The 36-year-old has made her comeback to the game after a 14-month break to give birth to her first child, Alexis Olympia.

Williams makes her return to the WTA Tour this week when she takes on Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas in the opening round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

However, she says the path to fitness has been far harder than she originally expected, and she may have to adjust her expectations of herself as a result.

“It’s been hard,” Williams told BBC Sport. “There have been so many days, even still, that I’m like ‘how am I going to keep going?’

“But I keep going and I know that I might not be at my best yet but I’m getting there. As long as I’m moving forward, even if it’s at a turtle’s pace, I’m OK with that.”

“If I want to play in those grand slams and play well then now is the perfect time to start.”

Serena Williams WTA Tour

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