Serena Williams is set to make a faster than anticipated return to action when she defends her Swedish Open title in Bastad, starting on 14 July. Having retired after three bizarre games of her doubles match with sister Venus Williams at Wimbledon on Wednesday, looking groggy, disorientated and barely able to see the ball, the 32-year-old has confirmed that she intends to take her place in the draw.
The American posted a photo of herself on Instagram on Friday lying under a blanket on a balcony at the home she and Venus have rented for this year’s Championships. While she awaits the results of some more tests to determine the extent of the illness, her agent, Jill Smoller, said Williams is “resting and getting better”.
Considering the way she looked when leaving the grounds of the All England Club on Wednesday, her decision is something of a surprise. It had been thought that she would return to the United States to rest up and begin preparin g for the North American hard-court season. But tournament directors at the Swedish Open told the Guardian via email on Friday that the Williams camp had reconfirmed Serena’s entry and she would be back on court, on clay, in Bastad, the week after next.
The rumour mill went into overdrive after the distressing and bizarre sight of Williams looking unsteady on her feet and barely able to serve when she and Venus took on Stefanie Vögele of Switzerland and Germany’s Kristina Barrois for their second-round doubles match on Wednesday.
The match almost did not happen at all after Williams was unable to catch the balls thrown by the ball girls and then completely missed two shots in the warm-up. After almost 15 minutes of discussion with doctors, Serena tried to play but something was clearly wrong and when she did four double-faults in the third game – with several efforts barely making it as far as the net – the umpire, Kader Nouni, suggested that enough was enough.
Events afterwards merely added to the mystery. Her coach Patrick Mouratoglou said he had not seen her for two days, but later accompanied her out of the grounds. A USA Today report quoted her sister, Isha, as saying that she had seemed “sad and emotional” over the few days since she was knocked out of the singles, by Alize Cornet of France, in the third round. In a statement, Serena said she was “heartbroken” that she was not able to play on, but “this bug just got the best of me”.
On his show on Fox Sports Radio, the former world No1 Andy Roddick, who is good friends with Serena, revealed that he had texted her to ask how she was and received the reply: “Andy, I’m just not well.”
Meanwhile, the world No2, Li Na, is looking for a new coach. Carlos Rodríguez, who had worked with the 32-year-old for two years, is to return to the academy he is attached to in China. The pair may work together when she is a t home but her agent, Max Eisenbud, said she hopes to appoint a new travelling coach sooner rather than later.
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