Serena Williams doubted she would ever play tennis once more forward of Wimbledon return

Serena Williams returned to tennis after a yr away with a doubles win on the Eastbourne Worldwide on Tuesday and whereas the American nice reaffirmed her love for the sport she stated her future on the circuit stays unsure.

The 23-times main champion had not performed aggressive tennis since limping out of her first-round match ultimately yr’s Wimbledon in tears as a consequence of a leg harm, and the 40-year-old stated there have been occasions when she doubted she would ever compete once more.

Nevertheless, Williams, who has gained seven Wimbledon singles titles, took a wildcard for the grasscourt main and kicked off her preparations with a doubles win with Tunisian Ons Jabeur.

“You recognize what, I’m actually taking it at some point at a time,” Williams informed reporters about her plans, saying she “completely” had moments of doubt about returning to the Tour.

“I actually took my time with my hamstring harm so I’m simply not making a ton of choices after this.”

Williams gained the final of her 23 Grand Slam titles on the 2017 Australian Open and stays one shy of equalling Margaret Court docket’s file for essentially the most main titles.

She reached the ultimate at 4 majors since returning to the Tour after giving start to daughter Olympia in 2017 however misplaced in straight units on every event.

Hypothesis about retirement gathered tempo when Williams, who has slipped down the rankings to no 1,204, launched her long-time coach Patrick Mouratoglou in April to coach Romania’s Simona Halep.

Requested if she noticed herself enjoying into the following yr, Williams stated: “I don’t know, I can’t reply that.

“However I really like tennis and I really like enjoying, or else I wouldn’t be out right here, proper?

“However I additionally love what I do off the court docket, what I’ve constructed with Serena Ventures, it’s attention-grabbing.”

The Wimbledon most important draw kicks off on Monday.