Serena Williams insists she is not putting pressure on herself to win titles ahead of her shock return to professional tennis.
The 44-year-old, who has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, will play her first competitive match in four years at Queen’s Club this week when she partners 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko in the women’s doubles.
Williams’ last match at the US Open in 2022 seemingly brought down the curtain on a glittering career, but she made a “pretty 11th-hour commitment” to play at the HSBC Championships in London and says her comeback is not about adding to her trophy collection.
“I don’t need to win,” she said.
“I’ve won more than most people have in their whole lives, so it’s not that important to me, and it’s important that I keep reminding myself of that, because I don’t have anything to prove.
“I don’t have anything to lose, and everything here is just to gain.”
Speaking after she and Mboko trained on the Queen’s Club grass on Sunday, she added: “This whole journey is like, I’m putting no pressure on myself.
“For me right now, it’s really just about so many elements. It’s really about my kids getting to see me play. Olympia is a little bit older, Adira is very young.
“An athlete is the best thing that you can be in the highest place, and having an opportunity to still be able to do that, possibly one last time, is kind of cool and exciting.”
Serena Williams speaks to reporters on Sunday afternoon
Attempting to justify the return, she added: “It’s summer, the kids aren’t in school, so it’s a perfect time to get out there, have fun, and see what happens.”
Williams has also added the Berlin Tennis Open to her comeback schedule ahead of a possible wildcard at Wimbledon later this month.
She has also entered the doubles tournament in the German capital, but is refusing to rule out a return to singles action once she has had more match practice.
“I can’t say no right now,” she said.
“I feel like I probably need to train a little bit more if I want to play singles, and we will see if I get there, and if not, that’s not my journey right now.”
Williams has trained with Mboko this weekend ahead of their opening match against Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe.
Serena Williams and Victoria Mboko of Canada warmed up at Queen’s Club on Sunday
Mboko is confident that her iconic partner is fit enough to play at a high level this week.
She said: “She’s hitting great. She has such clean ball striking, she could probably take years off, and when she steps on the court she could probably find that rhythm again and find her timing.
“So I think that’s really a God-given gift that she has.
“I personally think she’s ready to go. I’m hitting with her, she’s hitting pretty big and she’s really fit, so we’ll see.”
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