London: Sam Stosur isn’t buying Serena Williams’ personal narrative in this unlikeliest of comebacks.
“I don’t need to win,” is Williams’ public war cry for her highly anticipated Wimbledon return, almost four years after she lost what was supposed to be the last singles match of her extraordinary career to Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic at the 2022 US Open.
Williams is a 23-time grand slam champion – seven of those titles were won at the All England club – who sits comfortably alongside fellow greats Margaret Court, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Helen Wills Moody.
Sports leviathans Michael Jordan, George Foreman, Michael Phelps and Mario Lemieux made comebacks after years away with mixed results.
Like Williams, Kim Clijsters, Caroline Wozniacki, Naomi Osaka, Elina Svitolina and Belinda Bencic returned to tennis after giving birth. But they were all far younger than Williams.
The 44-year-old mother of two, who plays Australian up-and-comer Maya Joint on centre court early on Wednesday morning (AEST), is adamant she has nothing to prove, which her big sister Venus echoed when she spoke to reporters on Saturday.
Williams just wants to play in front of her daughters – Olympia, 8, and Adira, 2 – and try to enjoy playing tennis more than she did in her trophy-collecting prime. She even said she did not make her decision to accept a Wimbledon singles wildcard until the day before it was announced.
“I wasn’t sure up until then. Honestly, I’m still not even sure, but we’ll see,” Williams said.
Williams’ willingness to share her self-doubts has only added to the mystique around her comeback and what sort of level she can reach, particularly in this first match against Joint.
The young Australian, who was born and raised in Michigan, told this masthead that the American legend – known as the “Queen of the Court” – was almost a mythical figure to her because she had never seen her in person, and knew only of her incredible achievements.
Asked what she knew of Joint, Williams said she had watched some vision of the 20-year-old before saying matter-of-factly: “I’m sure she knows my game.”
There is some scepticism about how readily Williams is playing down expectations. Her actions are that of a woman on a mission – maybe even one who thinks there is a sliver of a chance she could win one more major title to match Court’s record.
Novak Djokovic, widely regarded as the GOAT of men’s tennis, noted he had seen Williams in the gym more than he did when she was at the peak of her powers, which he felt was a sign she “wants this to work out the best way possible”.
Stosur, who famously beat Williams to win the 2011 US Open, shares those sentiments, while Wimbledon semi-finalist Jelena Dokic said the American would not return “just for fun”.
“She wouldn’t have gone about this decision lightly, I’m sure, and I’m pretty certain, being the champion that she is, she’s not there just to make up the numbers,” Stosur said.
“She’s going into this, I think, believing she can win matches and do well.”
Perhaps, no one is better placed to give a view on Williams’ motives for coming out of retirement than her Australian coach Rennae Stubbs, who was among the first to learn of her comeback.
Stubbs believes Williams truly wants to relish the experience without being saddled with enormous expectations and is not looking beyond Joint in the draw.
Joint reached her career-high ranking of No.28 while still a teenager in February, but has lost 13 of her past 14 matches in an injury-interrupted season.
Williams does not represent the easy “out” a player with that form line would desire. In fact, Wimbledon’s grass is where the American has arguably been most dominant.
An AI analysis of Williams’ performance across her seven title runs at SW19 – in 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016 – offers an insight into the size of Joint’s task.
Williams won 81 per cent of her first-serve points in that sample, which no woman managed even last year at Wimbledon, and also claimed 58 per cent of second-serve return points, which is a frightening proposition for Joint.
Leading strategy coach Craig O’Shannessy estimates that Joint will need a first-serve percentage of about 70 to have any hope. For context, Joint has been in that vicinity just once this year.
Dual major champion Coco Gauff, an African-American woman who started playing tennis because of the Williams sisters, was a 15-year-old qualifier when she upset Venus Williams in the first round at Wimbledon seven years ago.
Gauff’s advice for Joint? Don’t look at the scoreboard.
“I did not want to see Venus’ name. No matter how much you try to block it out; I feel like once you see the name, it makes everything seem real,” Gauff said. “Also, you have to go in with the belief you can win.”
Joint’s United Cup teammate, top-10 star Alex de Minaur, said it was unrealistic to expect his countrywoman to be able to treat the Williams showdown as if it were any other match.
“You give [the greats] so much respect because of everything they have achieved, but sometimes you’ve got to try and remember to give yourself that respect that you’ve earned that spot,” de Minaur said.
“I played Rafa a couple of times. I played him early in my career, and at the end of my career.
“As I played him a couple more times, it was clear that he wasn’t in his prime, so you start to understand that, and give yourself a bit more credit and respect. Then, you can go out and play the tennis match on its own terms – but it’s not easy.”
What players are saying about Serena’s comeback
Maya Joint: “I never thought I’d actually play her. I’ve never actually seen her in person. She feels, like, not real, just a legend of the game … she must feel ready to play, and she’s played some doubles matches, so I’m going to expect her to play the same way she played four years ago.”
Novak Djokovic: “What she’s doing is inspirational, and it’s epic. That’s what I told her. I always admired her career, her journey, her story. Of course, Venus’, as well. For her to come back after years of being absent from the tour, two children later, and to give so much effort to, not just for her own satisfaction, but also to give all of us a pleasure of seeing her back on the court – in singles as well as doubles – is remarkable.”
Mirra Andreeva: “I was watching her matches when I was younger, and following what she does and cheering for her when she would win those grand slams. I would never think I would actually play the same tournament as her … I wouldn’t want to play against Serena. I would be very nervous.”
Aryna Sabalenka: “I’m super excited to see her play. I heard she said she’s doing this for her kids to see her play. It’s amazing what she’s doing … she’s bringing more eyes on tennis. It’s a good thing for tennis.”
Coco Gauff: “I played the sport because of [the Williams sisters], and believed that I could do things because of them. I look up to them a lot. Even when I played them; I’m still admiring. I think that’s the only time that’s happened to me in this sport.”
Marc McGowan travelled to London with the support of Tennis Australia
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