The reason why Serena Williams isn’t nervous heading into Wimbledon
TheGrio...
Serena Williams opens up about sharing her Wimbledon experience with her two daughters and how her definition of success has changed.
After four years away, Serena Williams is making her comeback at Wimbledon in London on Tuesday. At 44, she’ll face 20-year-old Australian player Maya Joint in singles.
However, unlike any other point in her career, Williams says she’s not nervous. After four decades behind the racket, multiple business ventures, wifehood, and motherhood, her goal is simply to have fun.
The 44-year-old tennis champion opened up ahead of the match about why, after initially planning only to return for doubles with her sister Venus later this week, she ultimately decided to pick up the racket for a singles match as well.
“I had only ever planned on playing doubles. I really, honestly, never thought of going deeper than that. It was kind of like a game-time decision, I suppose,” she said in a recent sit-down with ESPN’s Malika Andrews that aired on “Good Morning America” on Monday.
“As of now, I’m not nervous. My expectation here is just to take it easy and to be calm and to have fun,” Williams said. “Which is something I historically have never done, but in a good way. I think my intensity and my passion is always great but I’ve never just been like, ‘Oh let’s have fun.’”
Whether or not the decision feels right, the 23-time Grand Slam champion admitted, “I’m not even sure if I’m there yet, to be honest because honestly, it feels weird.”
The seven-time Wimbledon champion, who stepped away from the sport in 2022 after saying she was “evolving” to focus on family and business, has returned more focused on finding joy in the game than anything else while sharing the experience with daughters Olympia and Adira, whom she shares with her husband, Alexis Ohanian.
That much is clear in both what she’s said ahead of her comeback and the glimpses she’s shared of the journey along the way.
Ahead of her Wimbledon return, the Serena Ventures founder officially returned to competitive tennis at the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club before following it with an appearance at the Berlin Open.
“Missed this feeling. Thanks for the love,” she wrote in the caption of an Instagram post alongside footage from the HSBC Championships.
In another post following the HSBC Championships, the mother of two shared a photo of Olympia watching her launch a ball across the court and reflected on what the week had meant.
“Some moments mean more than trophies. What a fun and memorable week at @hsbcchampionships. Thank you to everyone who made it so special,” she wrote.
Then, shortly before her Wimbledon singles wildcard was announced, Williams shared another glimpse into the journey, posting a photo of herself on Instagram sitting on a bright green practice court with Olympia and Adira beside her in matching pink tennis outfits.
“@wimbledon looking a little different these days,” she captioned the post.
Since arriving in London, Williams has continued documenting the trip, balancing training with sightseeing and quality time with her girls. Social media updates have shown the athlete settling into an Airbnb in England, taking in the sights around London, riding through the city in luxury courtesy of Lincoln, and making “core memories” with Olympia and Adira between practices.
“Lately,” she captioned a carousel on Instagram posted Monday featuring behind-the-scenes photos of the family exploring the city.
Those glimpses have also offered a window into the version of success Williams says she’s chasing these days.
“I don’t have a definition of success right now,” the tennis legend continued during her sit-down with Andrews. “For me, it’s mostly just making my daughter’s school play, doing a lot of volunteering, which I’m number one at, and just being there for my kids. That’s my goals right now.”
You can catch Williams’ match against Joint on Tuesday, June 30, at 12:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. The match will also stream live on Fubo and the ESPN app.