Coach: Serena will play in French Open

Serena Williams’ coach said she will play the French Open beginning in two weeks.

The tournament will mark the 23-time Grand Slam champion’s first major since returning to the tour from maternity leave.

Coach Patrick Mouratoglou told the WTA Tour’s website, “Serena will play the French Open to win it.”

Williams returned to the tour briefly this year after a 14-month absence to give birth to her daughter. But she withdrew from last week’s Madrid Open and this week’s Italian Open.

Mouratoglou said when Williams arrived to train with him in France late last month, “We realized that she was not ready yet. The time she lost after the delivery with all the medical issues she had to go through, was missing.”

Williams, a three-time French Open champion, has not played since a first-round loss to Naomi Osaka in March at the Miami Open. The French Open starts on May 27. ⏩ Roberta Vinci retired after a first-round loss before her home fans at the Italian Open.

She said she didn’t want to be remembered solely for beating Williams in the 2015 U.S. Open semifinals, which prevented the American from completing a calendar-year Grand Slam. Vinci helped Italy win four Fed Cups. ⏩ The No. 4 Stanford men were upset 4-3 by No. 38 Ole Miss in Sunday’s NCAA second-round match at Stanford, ending the Cardinal’s best season in 15 years.