Serena back on court for Fed Cup
A dozen or so curious media members looked on yesterday as Serena Williams grimaced and grunted with effort throughout one of her last practice sessions before her scheduled return to competitive tennis tomorrow. CoCo Vandeweghe tried to keep things light.
‘‘Sorry, you’re just a little taller than Lauren Davis,’’ Vandeweghe said after feeding 1.75m Williams an overhead shot better suited for 1.57m Davis, with whom she had been practising earlier. Williams shot her a wide smile before shuffling back into position.
There was time for smiles, laughter and a focused few hours of practice after Williams met the media alongside sister Venus, Vandeweghe and Davis as part of the US Fed Cup team in Asheville, North Carolina, for the tie against the Netherlands today and tomorrow. At 36, Williams is scheduled to play her first competitive match in 13 months, five months after giving birth to daughter Alexis Olympia. She is set to play doubles alongside Davis.
‘‘It’s definitely the start of a long process. You have to start, and I’m ready,’’ Williams said.
For Williams, Asheville will be a relatively quiet return to the pro circuit.
A 23-time grand slam champion, she travelled to North Carolina not only with Venus, who plays today, but also older sister Isha Price and baby Alexis.
There will be no pressure of a WTA tournament, nor will there be a similar time commitment – her doubles match will be tomorrow, and quite possibly will have no bearing on the result (the Americans are heavily favoured).
Further, she will be playing for country, not individual gain. Even the venue is intimate – US Cellular Centre in downtown Asheville has a capacity of 4500.
Venus Williams plays Arantxa Rus in the first singles’ match today and Vandeweghe plays Richel Hogenkamp in the second. Tomorrow, Venus Williams and Vandeweghe play singles again before the doubles match.
As far as comebacks go, it’s more like dipping her toe back into the water of competitive tennis.
‘‘Why not Fed Cup?’’ Williams said. ‘‘It’s a great opportunity to get a new set of eyes on what I’ve been doing, with [US Fed Cup captain Kathy Rinaldi], and also just hitting with different people and seeing different balls and seeing lots of different things. So I think actually it’s a really perfect opportunity to try and come back.’’
Williams said she felt good, physically, though a large part of her comeback will be getting back into match shape – the former world No 1 dealt with scary health complications after giving birth that included blood clots forming in her lungs.
She spoke of ‘‘ups and downs’’ in practice as she works to get back to a full-scale training regimen.
‘‘You know, I think that’s normal for everything that I’ve gone through, but it also gives me another view,’’ Williams said. ‘‘It’s almost relaxing for me, because I have nothing to prove.’’
She said she had been ‘‘fighting against all odds to be out there, to be competing again’’.
Said Williams: ‘‘Every day I get better and I get stronger, and that’s just something I always keep telling myself every day. Be better.
‘‘I have a great partner relationship with Venus. She’s been really positive. There have been moments that we, well . . . it’s just been hard. Just getting back out there and doing it every day, you have to get used to that and get in the rhythm of that. So I’ve been able to really rely on her for that.’’
Williams said she didn’t yet have her schedule set for the rest of the year, though she is listed among the entries for the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, which runs from March 5-18.
Yesterday, she called motherhood ‘‘the most fun of my life,’’ but made it clear her career goals are unchanged. As they were before her maternity leave, Williams’s sights are set on winning at least 25 grand slam titles, which would break the record held by Margaret Court.
The Washington
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