Serena Williams comeback may already be over, claims former British No 1
Serena Williams provided one of the biggest stories in tennis by making a Wimbledon comeback at the age of 44, but former British No 1 Greg Rusedski has claimed her defeat against Maya Joint may be her one and only appearance in singles.
Williams fought hard and turned in an impressive performance in her first singles match in almost four years, but Joint ran out a 6-3 6-7(6) 6-3 winner.
The shock comeback for this mother of two created headlines way beyond tennis, but former world No 4 Greg Rusedski does not believe this comeback will be sustained.
In fact, he has predicted on his podcast that Williams may not ever play another singles match after her appearance at Wimbledon.
“After this result, I’d say that’s the end,” stated Rusedski. “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.
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“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?”
Rusedski has previously predicted Serena was coming back to tennis to play doubles with her sister Venus and he suspects that scenario will become a reality.
“Like I said at the beginning of the year, I thought this was just a comeback to do retirement with her sister Venus at the US Open and doubles,” he added.
“The good news for all of us here in Britain is we’re going to get to see her and Venus play in the doubles at Wimbledon. I would love to see her get a deep run with her sister because their story, two girls coming from Compton and Los Angeles, going on to both become world No 1’s, won the greatest of all time, won a multiple.
“It’s a story we’ll never see in the women’s or men’s game again. So, you know, good effort for trying singles, but I think too much hype, too much expectation and we’re all living in the past hoping a miracle could happen.”
