Serena Williams recently sat down for her first official Wimbledon pre-championships press conference and was asked to name a few of her favorite players from the women’s division that she enjoys watching. Williams named Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff as her two top favorites to watch, while also appreciating Mirra Andreeva. Fans have praised her choices but were also surprised to know that Naomi Osaka did not make it to her list of favorites.

Williams first praised Sabalenka in the press conference, saying that the Belarusian brings great intensity like no other and does well in most of her Grand Slam matches that she is involved in.

“I like seeing Sabalenka just kinda do so well in so many Grand Slams has always been really cool to watch her and I love her intensity out there,” (2:54)

She then spoke about her excitement of watching Gauff:

“I love watching Coco; she wasn’t super around, but I love watching her.”

Fans quickly took to their social media, sharing their thoughts and drawing parallels between Sabalenka’s championship pedigree and her own.

One user wrote:

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One more user reacted to Williams praising Andreeva:

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A fan also speculated that Williams still holds a bittersweet opinion on Osaka:

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The history between Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka goes back to 2018, when the two clashed for the US Open title. Williams lost the match in straight sets, 6–2, 6–4, and was penalized due to an on-court dispute with the chair umpire. However, the event was also notable for its emotional trophy ceremony when Williams stepped in to control the crowd and comfort an emotional Osaka after the US Open winner received a barrage of booing from the crowd.

Serena Williams To Compete in Her First Wimbledon Doubles Match in A Decade

For the 23-time Grand Slam winner, the upcoming Wimbledon is set to witness history, as, besides her epic singles return, Serena Williams will also make a doubles run at SW19 with her sister, Venus Williams. The pair received a wildcard and will take on Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra.

The Williams sisters last played together at the English lawn back in 2016 and managed to lift the trophy for the sixth time after defeating Tímea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova in two sets in the final of Wimbledon.

The sisters will show up at the court on Thursday, 2nd July, for their first doubles match, after Serena gets done with her first Grand Slam singles match against Australia’s rising talent, Maya Joint.

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