Serena Williams teases return to competitive tennis, says Tom Brady ‘started a really cool trend’
Serena Williams will play nine exhibition matches during the 2014 season, beginning in June, and she’s excited about the competition.
“Yeah, of course,” the 32-year-old former world number one tennis star says when asked if she would compete again. “I won’t know for sure until I get here because they want to see how I am this first week,” she says of the exhibition matches. “[They want to] look at my fitness and how I’m feeling and see if I can adjust.”
Williams does not have a date set for her return. “That’s up to the doctors,” she says. “They’ve done a lot of tests on me. They don’t want to do them too soon, but they want to do them right. So I have to be in good shape and I have to be ready to play.”
As a result, her schedule will be different. She will be competing in nine tournaments in the fall, followed by exhibition matches in exhibition matches. “I have different tournaments here than I do in other places, so I have to adjust, and I will,” she says.
Williams also will be playing the WTA Tour in October, and she says her motivation will come from the support of the players she’ll be competing against. “I’ve been playing tennis for 40 years. I’m not going to change the way I play. It’s one of those things that if you’re going to compete, then you have to play by the rules, you have to play by the best players in the world, and you can’t do otherwise,” she says.
Last month, Williams said she is still optimistic about her chances of returning to the tour.
“I feel great. Absolutely. I’m working out and trying to make it more fun in all aspects of life,” she said at the WTA’s Players’ Summit. “I can’t really go into details, but I’m going to be the first one to tell you how excited I am and how happy I am. I can’t wait to get back on the court. I feel great and
