Serena Williams’ comeback seems to be edging closer and closer, and with it, excitement only grows.
After all, it would be one of the most remarkable stories in tennis history, welcoming arguably the greatest female player of all time out of retirement at the age of 44.
There are naturally questions over how the 23-time Grand Slam champion might fare given she retired nearly four years ago now.
And yet, Mark Petchey has another fear which he has now voiced.
Mark Petchey shares his only ‘issue’ with Serena Williams’ comeback
Chatting with Andrea Petkovic on the Big T podcast, naturally, there was great excitement about the prospect of Serena Williams’s comeback.
However, Petchey suggested that, if she is to return, it would only be at one of the top-level tournaments: “I got to feel that, you know, if she’s going to do this, then why would you not turn up at Indian Wells and Miami and play doubles with Venus?
Serena Williams would finish 2026 ranked — in the world if she came out of retirement
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“I hope she goes singles [as well as doubles]. I really want to see it.
“I think it would be great for the sport. There’s no doubt that so many eyeballs are going to gravitate towards the sport. And it’s been the same when Venus steps onto the court. Everybody is looking at somebody who has just been a legend of the sport. The longevity, you question your own kind of drive for perfection when you look at people that have done everything, that basically are still out there trying to compete at that scale, is her game scalable? There’s no question that it’s still so relevant, you, the power game.”
He did raise one fear he had over the spectacle, adding: “Obviously, the question mark is, you, it’s not probably for Serena, can she do it for one day? I don’t think that’s in any doubt, but whether she can put back-to-back matches behind her over the course of whether it’s Indian Wells or two weeks of a major on the singles court.
“That’s obviously the question that’s going to get answered at some point, but you don’t put yourself back on the ITA list if you don’t have a plan, if you’re Serena Williams. There’s no point in complicating your life to the degree that you have to.”
When was Serena Williams’ last match?
As referenced earlier, it has been nearly four years since Serena Williams called time on her sparkling career.
She retired having won 23 singles majors, a further 16 doubles majors, and four Olympic gold medals; and that only scratches the surface.
Is Serena Williams the greatest tennis player of all time?
So, naturally, excitement is growing as the early hints of her comeback have continued to develop.
Serena played her final professional singles match at the 2022 US Open, losing to Ajla Tomljanović in the third round.
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