By: Zhaohua Chen

At a lush tennis court in Wimbledon, England, Serena Williams takes a seat in the main interview room under the spotlights, watching her rivals practice for another one of this year’s Grand Slam Tournament. The tension is high this year. In last year’s Wimbledon, Williams suffered a torn right hamstring in the very first round which prevented her from continuing in the tournament.

“You never want any match to end like that,” she said. “It’s really unfortunate, but it was definitely something that’s always been at the top of my mind.” Williams withdrew from three out of the four Grand Slam tournaments, the fourth being Wimbledon. Grand Slam tournaments are the most prestigious competitions for an individual in tennis– the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open. This sparked concern as to if she was intending to continue playing tennis or not.

Since her last appearance at the All-England Club in Wimbledon, she’s dealt with many challenges, including motherhood and raising her children, as well as business opportunities. Williams mentions, “A part of me feels like that is a little bit more of my life now than tournaments. When you do have a venture company, you do have to go all in. It definitely takes literally all of my extra time. And it’s fun. I’m currently out of office for the next few weeks, so if you email me, you’ll get the nice ‘out of office’ reply. Everyone knows that I’ll be back in a few weeks. But it’s good.”

Additionally, since the last Wimbledon, Williams’ coach of 10 years, Patrick Mouratoglou, has parted ways with her. He went on to coach Simona Halep, who defeated Williams in straight sets at the 2019 Wimbledon final.

Williams is now being coached by Eric Hechtman, longtime director of the Royal Palm Tennis Club located in Miami, and the man who has been coaching her sister, Venus Williams, since 2019.

This year’s Wimbledon has even higher bars set for Serena. She has won 23 singles Grand Slam titles, and out of those, 7 historic Wimbledon wins. After a year-long hiatus, Serena Williams is back in the game, and many await what precise skills she will bring to the Wimbledon table.

Hechtman has high expectations for Serena’s performance in this year’s Wimbledon. He says, “She’s a champion, right? And she’s playing Wimbledon for a reason. Just like I think anybody that walks into the tournament, their goal is to win the event. And that’s our goal.” Williams also agrees with her coach, saying that people already know what “a good outcome” meant for her.

Williams’ appearance at Wimbledon is unexpected but welcomed. She said “You know, I don’t know. Who knows when I’ll pop up next? You’ve just got to be ready.”

Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/25/sports/tennis/serena-williams-wimbledon.html