Serena Williams shuts down retirement rumours as she teases Wimbledon return plan

By Sports Desk April 07, 2022

Serena Williams appeared to shut down premature talk of calling time on her career by declaring that she hopes to return from injury in time for Wimbledon.

The 40-year-old has not played competitively since losing to Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the first round of last year's tournament at SW19 and is now ranked at 246 in the world.

Williams' future in the sport was called into question on Thursday when her long-time coach Patrick Mouratoglou announced he will now work with Simona Halep.

However, the 23-time major winner – who has been coached by Mouratoglou since 2012 – has moved to confirm her intention to return to top-level tennis in the coming months.

Speaking alongside Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers at an event in Miami, Williams said: "We've been talking about my comeback and he's been hyping me up.

"He's getting me ready for Wimbledon. Can't wait!"

Williams is one major title shy of matching Margaret Court's long-standing record of 24, having been beaten in four finals since her most recent triumph at the 2017 Australian Open.

She missed last year's US Open on home soil, as well as the 2022 Australian Open in January.

Rodgers was surprised at Williams' Wimbledon announcement and asked: "What about the US Open?", to which the ex-world number one replied: "Wimbledon is first".

The grass-court grand slam gets under way on June 27.

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    Players could harm themselves if not given enough support during times of crisis, according to former Huddersfield youngster Tareiq Holmes-Dennis.

    The defender was forced to retire in 2020, aged just 24, after a serious knee injury.

    Holmes-Dennis needed counselling when his career was cut short and while he feels concern for player welfare has improved, claims there needs to be a prolonged push to aid those in need.

    Former Manchester City youngster Jeremy Wisten took his own life in 2020 after being released following a battle with a knee injury and Holmes-Dennis worries about the mental health of others.

    “When you see young boys that have taken their life because they can’t cope – coping with the stresses of being released – it should never get there,” he told the PA news agency.

    “You don’t want it to become a norm. There are so many people going through situations where they are mentally struggling.

    “It is starting to be highlighted a bit more. Some clubs in particular are putting time and effort into giving the resources to players and, ultimately, it’s players who make the club perform.

    “Their welfare should be at the forefront but it’s relatively new, mental health and player welfare and making sure players are in a good physical and mental space.

    “There is a magnifying glass on that now which is good because it is easy to look from the outside and say ‘you’re paid to do X, Y, Z’. There’s a lot more that goes into that and there’s a lot of repercussions for players off the pitch if their mental health isn’t in the right place.

    “It’s clear an effort is being made to understand what players go through and what can be done to best aid them.”

    The 27-year-old, now working at agency Wasserman, suffered a serious knee injury on his Portsmouth debut in 2017 while on loan at Fratton Park from Huddersfield.

    He slipped on the artificial surface around the pitch and, after three years of injury battles and aborted comebacks, was forced to retire prematurely.

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    However, being forced to quit left the former England Under-18 international feeling bereft.

    “I saw a counsellor to get over it. I learned speaking about it was the biggest thing. I didn’t want to hold it in,” said Holmes-Dennis, who was part of the Huddersfield squad promoted to the Premier League in 2017.

    “I also didn’t want to be annoying people but I know my family loved me and understood what I was going through was difficult because they’d seen my journey.

    “It was just a dark, dark time. Losing that routine, losing that drive to wake up and do something. You’re used to preparing in a certain way, being an elite athlete and living the elite lifestyle to then feeling irrelevant.”

    Holmes-Dennis’ situation is not unique and left a promising young player facing up to the reality of having his career and life torn away.

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