Serena Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles — the most of any woman in the Open Era — and 14 more Grand Slams in doubles with her sister, Venus Williams.
And that’s enough for her.
Williams, 44, met with the media Sunday at the HSBC Championships at the Queen’s Club in London, where she will compete as a wild card in doubles with Canadian phenom Victoria Mboko, 19, this week. Williams confirmed her tennis comeback last week.
“I don’t need to win,” Williams said Sunday, per BBC Sport. “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 to just to gain.”
Williams added, “It’s really about my kids getting to see me play. I mean, Olympia is a little bit older. Adira is very young. But it’s also having an opportunity to still be able to do possibly do that one last time is kind of cool and exciting.”
When asked if a return to singles is also on the horizon, Williams pumped the brakes: “I can’t say yeah, I can’t say no. Right now, no. I feel like I probably need to train a little bit more if I want to play singles. We’ll see if I get there, and if not, that’s not my journey right now.”
Williams married Alexis Ohanian in November 2017, two months after they welcomed Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr.. The couple’s second daughter Adira River Ohanian arrived in August 2023
Williams last played professional tennis at the US Open in September 2022. She and Venus bowed out in the first round of the doubles draw, and Williams suffered a third-round loss to Ajla Tomljanović in singles.
While Williams won’t commit to competing in singles, her return won’t be confined to this week’s HSBC Championships. The Berlin Tennis Open announced Friday that it “can’t wait to welcome” Williams to its grass court from June 13 to June 21.
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