Pam Shriver says Serena Williams has built an "all-time great legacy" in tennis and expressed her relief that the legendary American will make her comeback at Wimbledon.
Williams has 23 grand slam singles titles to her name and is just one short of Margaret Court's all-time record as the 40-year prepares to return to The All England Club as a wildcard.
She has not played a singles match since suffering an ankle injury in last year's Wimbledon opener against Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
Seven-time Wimbledon singles champion Williams will face world number 113 Harmony Tan in the first round on Tuesday, hoping to prove doubters wrong once again.
Three years ago, Williams became the oldest player to reach the singles final at SW19 and in 2016 she became the oldest champion when she beat Angelique Kerber.
Shriver, who reached the last four at Wimbledon in 1981, 1987 and 1988, cannot wait to see Williams back on court at the grass-court major.
"It's fantastic. I mean a month ago, I said it in interviews during Paris [the French Open], it just didn't look likely, there were no signs that were pointing towards her coming back," Shriver told Stats Perform.
"She hadn't posted anything of her workouts, never said anything about it. She'd sort of hinted at it sort of playful way like with a post with Aaron Rodgers, one of our best quarterbacks here.
"And she had sort of put it out there that she was going to play Wimbledon, but then it was like, okay, but who are you working with? Where are you practising? How much are you? Or how much time are you putting into it?
"You're going to go 12 months without a singles match and just rock up at Wimbledon. But it is great news that our last sighting of Serena on the tennis court isn't her limping off Centre Court last year midway through a first set."
Williams' first major title came 23 years ago at the US Open and Shriver has hailed her compatriot's astonishing longevity.
"It's an all-time great legacy, starting in 1999 when she won her first major as a 17-year-old at the US Open, upsetting [Martina] Hingis on Arthur Ashe Court," she added.
"She was the first of the Williams sisters to win a singles major. She's been making history since the late 1990s.
"She is now entering her fourth decade of trying to make history on the court and I think it's been exciting to have watched most of it.
"[There are] little things that are so impressive, her Olympic record, incredible. The way she won the gold medal in London in 2012 was as dominant a performance I've ever seen on a foreign tennis court.
"She and Venus are 14-0 in major doubles finals. So look, if you compare her numbers to Martina Navratilova’s numbers, tournament wins-wise, then Martina blows Serena away.
"But that was back in an era where the intent was to play a lot more and there was more of an emphasis placed on tour titles. During Serena’s 20-odd-year career, the emphasis the entire time has been on how many majors can you win. And that's what she's been focused on, especially in the last 10 years."
ATP Finals: Sinner happy to come through 'very tough match' against Fritz
Jannik Sinner insisted he was prepared for the "aggressive" Taylor Fritz in their first meeting since the US Open final in September at the ATP Finals on Tuesday.
Sinner improved his record over Fritz to 3-1 with a 6-4 6-4 victory in Turin, going level with Alexander Zverev with a Tour-leading 67th victory of the season.
The Italian now sits at the top of the Ilie Nastase Group after two games, and faces Daniil Medvedev on Thursday, with the Russian beating Alex de Minaur in straight sets.
"It was a very tough match. We got to know each other from a grand slam final," Sinner said.
"We knew exactly what to expect today. He was very aggressive, but I was prepared too. I just tried to serve well in the important moments.
"In the return positions, his quality of tennis was very, very high, so I was struggling to return his serve, but I was happy with the situation.
"It was a very important day for me today, and I'm very happy that I got through."
Sinner fought off tough resistance from Fritz in front of a home crowd in Turin, hitting 22 winners compared to his opponent's 19.
Fritz had initially earned the first break point of the match, but was unable to make it count before fighting back from 0-40 to level the first set at 4-4.
Sinner ultimately piled the pressure on to win the first set and capitalised on a double fault in the second to break Fritz and win. Fritz will now face de Minaur on Thursday.
ATP Finals: Sinner stays perfect with assured Fritz victory
Jannik Sinner continued his quest to end his stellar season with the ATP Finals title after downing Taylor Fritz in straight-sets to earn his second win of the tournament.
Sinner emerged a 6-4 6-4 victor in an hour and 40 minutes in Turin, with his latest triumph improving his record to 7-0 on indoor hard courts in 2024.
The Italian showed his intentions with a love service game to open the first set, but was matched by his American opponent, who was also looking to maintain his perfect start.
Sinner missed four break points in the eighth game, but made no mistake in Fritz's following service game to claim the early advantage in Turin.
Fritz again traded blows with the year-end world number one, but would again lose a decisive break late in the second set that put Sinner within touching distance.
The American exchanged in another pulsating rally with his opponent, but sent a backhand wide to send Sinner through and to the top of the Ilie Nastase Group after two matches.
Up next for Sinner is Daniil Medvedev, who beat Alex de Minaur earlier on Tuesday, while Fritz will face the Australian on Thursday.
Data Debrief: The Italian Job
In a back-and-forth tussle with Alexander Zverev to end the year with the most wins, Sinner levelled the German with his Tour-leading 67th victory in 2024 on Tuesday.
He also sealed a 12th win against an American opponent this season, only managing more wins against Ben Shelton (three) this season than Fritz (two, level with Alex Michelsen).
Sinner (2023-24) is only the third player in the Open Era to claim 47+ ATP match wins on hard court in consecutive seasons after Roger Federer (2005-06) and Novak Djokovic (2012-13, 15-16).
Daniil Medvedev credited his ability to "block out the noise" as crucial in getting his ATP Finals campaign up and running with a straight-sets victory over Alex de Minaur.
Medvedev, who lost his opening game of the tournament to Taylor Fritz, returned to winning ways with a 6-2 6-4 triumph over the Australian in 78 minutes on Tuesday.
The Russian cut a frustrated figure in his defeat to Fritz on Sunday, breaking his racket and was docked a point after serving a third consecutive double fault during the encounter.
However, the fourth seed produced an expertly measured performance, winning 20 out of 31 baseline points in the opening set to claim the early advantage.
The second set was more evenly contested, but Medvedev secured a crucial break point in the ninth game, going on to seal his first top 10 win on hard courts since March.
"After the last match I was too tired to fight mentally the way I do and so, during the match, when it doesn't work your way, you want to win and when you start losing you get frustrated," Medvedev said.
"So I went into this match thinking, if I lose I go home on Thursday for sure and if I win then I have the chance to have a good feeling. I tried to hit some shots and it worked well and I'm ok with it.
"A lot of football players do it [block the noise]. It's more about social media and for sure after my performance with Taylor and some of my comments ... I tried to read it less.
"I went into this match trying to block the noise even from myself, so no tantrums and I really didn't care what was happening on the court."
Medvedev will seek to bolster his hopes of progressing from the John Newcombe Group when he takes on Jannik Sinner next, with the Italian in action against Fritz later on Tuesday.
Data Debrief: Cool, calm and collected
Medvedev kept his hopes of sealing a second ATP Finals crown alive with a composed display against De Minaur, improving his record to 45-19 for the season.
While the Russian produced more unforced errors (18) than De Minaur (15), Medvedev showed his quality by hitting 24 winners, 14 of which came with his forehand.
Medvedev also claimed his sixth top 10 win of 2024, while also improving his head-to-head record against his Australian opponent to 7-3, avenging his defeat in the French Open round of 16 earlier this year.
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