Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula shared their takes on Serena Williams’ comeback to Wimbledon. Talking about her return to the Grand Slam, Keys shared her verdict about the 44-year-old’s performance at the tournament.
Keys is currently competing at the Lexus Open, where she recently secured her place in the quarterfinal with a dominant 6-0, 6-1 win over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. She is now set to face McCartney Kessler for a spot in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, Pegula’s latest outing came at the Berlin Open, where she enjoyed an impressive run to the final. The American defeated several top players along the way but narrowly missed out on the title, falling to Linda Noskova, who claimed a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win in the championship match.
As they prepared for their respective upcoming matches and tournaments, the two players recently discussed Serena Williams’ comeback on the latest episode of “The Player’s Box Podcast.” The 23-time Grand Slam champion returned to professional tennis in June after almost four years away from the sport and has recently been awarded a Wimbledon doubles wildcard. She is set to partner with her sister, Venus Williams, in the major.
Opening about Williams’ return, Pegula said:
“It’s pretty crazy that she’s just like back. Crazy. But it’s also like she never left.”
Sharing her take on the American’s return, Keys said:
“Also, she’s Serena. So, yeah, she could win Wimbledon.”
Serena Williams revealed what motivated her to make a comeback
Serena Williams recently competed in the Berlin Open doubles event alongside Karolina Muchova, but the pair suffered a first-round defeat to Erin Routliffe and Gillian Olmos. Following this loss, Williams addressed the media in the post-match press conference, where she opened up about what motivated her to return to the sport after nearly four years away.
Reflecting on her return, she credited her sister, Venus Williams, for inspiring her comeback. She also pointed to the return of 41-year-old American skier Lindsey Vonn, saying:
“I was really motivated by what Venus was doing at US Open, I thought she played really well. Quarterfinals in doubles, I thought was really interesting. At the time, she was always telling me I should play. I felt a lot of pressure, but I wasn’t practicing at all. Watching Lindsey Vonn and everyone do so well, all these women as you mentioned coming back being so good, I just felt ‘why not? A least for a little bit, this is not obviously forever. It’s not sustainable for me. I did feel motivated after the Olympics.”
She also revealed how her elder daughter, Olympia Ohanian, motivated her to team up with Venus for the Wimbledon Championships. Williams said:
“Well, I think it’s going to be fun. My daughter Olympia told me that I should play with Venus. She’s always right. She’s like, ‘Mom you should play with Venus.’ She’s very serious, she’s very smart. She’s very wise. I said, ‘OK, Olympia, we’ll see if we can do it.’”
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