Serena Williams comeback: Former British star makes lavish claim over what she can achieve
Serena Williams is set to make a stunning comeback to tennis in 2026 and in the opinion of one former player turned respected commentator, her expectations should be high.
Williams has not played a competitive match since the 2022 US Open, when he bid an emotional farewell to her American fans at a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Now a mother of two small children, the 44-year-old confirmed she is considering a comeback to tennis when she added her name to the doping control list last year, with her eligibility to return confirmed last month.
The debate over where and when Serena will now come back is one of the big talking points in tennis, with former WTA Tour player Naomi Cavaday convinced the 23-time Grand Slam champion will challenge some of the best players in the game when she returns.
Williams is coming back to tennis in great shape after claiming she lost losing 34 pounds with the help of weight loss drugs and now Cavaday is backing the tennis legend to make an impression on the big stages of the sport once again.
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“It will be quite a spectacle,” said Cavaday, speaking exclusively to Tennis365 at a Sky Sports Tennis event in London.
“Whenever, wherever it happens, I mean, if she wants to play tournaments, we’ll have her. I’m fascinated by the motivation for it and to how it’s going to go because the problem with Serena’s record is that anything other than winning Slams will be seen as a disappointment.
“ Maybe not as far as a failure, but when she came back from having a kid, I think making the finals was a success. No one saw it as a failure, but, you know, she’s here to win Slam. So if she’s coming back, everyone’s going to be expecting her to be winning Slams, not losing quarters.
“She’s in a very different position than her sister Venus, who’s clearly just playing because she enjoys it and doesn’t really worry that she’s losing in the first round a lot. But for Serena, I don’t know, I don’t know where this ends up if she loses early and she’s not a threat and she’s getting chewed up by players in the top 10.
“If that happens, it’s gonna be rough for her, but my expectations of what she can achieve are very high.
“ I think her level walks to top 10, even after so long away and at her age. She might not necessarily get into the top 10 of the rankings, as she probably won’t play enough tournaments, but her level could be right there with top players quickly.
“I think you stick her against somebody ranked 20, I don’t think it’ll be a problem. She’ll have the occasional difficulty, I’m sure, along the way, but outside of Aryna Sabalenka and [Elena] Rybakina, she will be fancy her chances.
“Coco Gauff is having a few problems, there is a lot of talk around the issues in Iga Swiatek’s team and that’s gonna be going on throughout the whole season. Then I look at players like [Jasmine] Paolini and I think Serena would be able to beat players like that.”
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Williams has yet to confirm if she is coming back to play doubles with her sister Venus of whether she will launch a full-scale return to tennis, with a possible appearance at her beloved Wimbledon this summer.
What is certain is whatever happens in this story, the tennis world will be watching when the player widely regarded as the best woman ever to pick up a racket makes her comeback.
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