Serena Williams is set to reveal comeback plans and it might come as a surprise

Tennis365 08 Jul 2026 8:00 PM

Serena Williams arrives on Centre Court at Wimbledon

The ‘what comes next’ question was ringing loudly for Serena Williams as she limped out of Wimbledon with a knee problem.

After the most talked about comeback in tennis came to an end after a couple of doubles matches and a solitary singles match against Maya Joint on Wimbledon’s Centre Court, it was unclear what Williams would do next after her shock comeback at the age of 44.

Confirmation that she was forced to pull out of playing doubles with her sister, Venus Williams, at Wimbledon left doubts over whether the return of Serena was a brief and somewhat less than glorious sideshow for the tennis world.

The world has been waiting to discover what comes next for Serena and while no official word has emerged from her camp, rumours are growing about her next steps.

Tennis365 understands that Williams is currently planning to play a full schedule of singles matches ahead of the US Open, which will include her playing in regular tour events.

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That would mean competing at the Canadian Open in Toronto in early August and the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati ahead of the US Open.

She is also planning to play doubles with her sister Venus Williams at the US Open, after the duo’s plans to compete at Wimbledon were ruined by Serena’s knee injury.

Of course, all of these plans could be postponed or even permanently cancelled if the knee injury Williams sustained in her defeat against Maya Joint is more serious than initially thought.

If she can recover in time to play on the US hard court swing of the tour, her level of performance in the three set defeat against Joint should give Williams hope that she can compete with players who may be half her age.

Yet former British No 1 Greg Rusedski is among those who has suggested Williams’ comeback plans are over-ambitious.

“I’d be very surprised if she tries to go play in America on the hard courts because it’s much more difficult to go through the players on the hard courts because it’s a true bounce every time you hit the shot,” on his podcast.

“On top of that, your movement has to be better than on grass. She’s got to serve better than she did against Joint. She didn’t hit her spots. She didn’t break down her opponent’s forehand at all. And when she went big, she missed it in the net or wide. So, you know, for her, her game style.

“Serena used to intimidate players with power, with force, with accuracy. And it wasn’t good enough. Yes, 44 years young, impressive that she’s playing at Wimbledon and having had no matches, but you need to have some preparation going into these events.

“Because it’s Serena, we always expect a miracle. And, you know, in one respect, you’ve got to give her a lot of credit and well done for giving it a go, because not a lot of greats are going to risk that sort of comeback. But we know she likes to do things in a big and dramatic manner.

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“Now, after this result, I think she will say to herself, do I want to continue on this journey?”

Williams has yet to confirm her plans for what comes next, but it seems we have not heard the last of her story on a tennis court.