Serena Williams eyes Australian Open as her comeback tournament
Serena Williams has declared that she is hoping to make to return to competitive tennis in January 2018 in order to defend her Australian Open title in Melbourne. However, the 35-year-old was quick to point out that her return, after taking a break to welcome her first child wouldnāt be easy.
Williams took aĀ break from the tennis court as she and her fiance, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, are expecting to welcome their first child at the end of the year. The 35-year-oldĀ has claimed that she wants to stage a comeback as soon as possible as she wants to defend her Australian Open title.Ā
āItās the most outrageous plan,ā she told Vogue in an interview. āI just want to put that out there. Thatās, like, three months after I give birth. Iām not walking anything back, but Iām just saying itās pretty intense.ā
Serena holds the record of winning the most number of Grand Slam titles in the Open era that includes seven Australian Open and Wimbledon titles along with six US Open and three French Open titles. She feels that coming back after one year break will affect her return.
āIn this game, you can go dark fast,ā she said. āIf I lose, and I lose again, itās like, sheās done. Especially since Iām not 20 years old. Iāll tell you this much: I wonāt win less. Either I win, or I donāt play.ā
Williams, whose 2017 Australian Open crown took her above SteffiĀ Graf's total of 22 in the Open era, is just one behind MargaretĀ Court (24). The American star has always been targeted because of the way she plays the game but she said that she doesn't pay too much attention to it.
āNot only me, but women in general sometimes feel that power is a bad word. As Iāve gotten older Iāve started to feel differently about it. Power is
She also spoke up about the racism that still exists at the highest level of the sport claimingĀ that because of her skin colour she didnāt get as much attention as compared to other players.Ā
āI feel like people think Iām mean. Really tough and really mean and really street. I believe that the other girls in the locker room will say, āSerenaās really nice.ā But Maria Sharapova, who might not talk to anybody, might be perceived by the public as nicer. Why is that? Because Iām black and so I look mean? Thatās the society we live in. Thatās life. They say African Americans have to be twice as good, especially women. Iām perfectly OK with having to be twice as good,ā Williams concluded.
