Serena Williams says she has “nothing to prove” on her return to competitive tennis after an absence of nearly four years, adding her main motivation is the prospect of her daughters seeing her play again.
The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion will line up alongside Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko in the doubles event at Queen’s, which starts on Monday.
The American said she was not putting any pressure on herself as she returns to the sport that she dominated for so many years.
“I’ve had enough pressure. It’s really about my kids getting to see me play,” Williams, 44, said.
“It’s also that being an athlete is the best thing that you can be in the highest place.
“Having an opportunity to still be able to possibly do that one last time is kind of cool and exciting.”
Williams gave birth to Olympia, now aged eight, in 2017 and returned to tennis a few months later. She went on to reach four major singles finals after having her eldest daughter.
Her second daughter, Adira, was born in 2023 and has never seen her mother play on the tour.
Asked how important it is for her to show she can still win, Williams replied: “I don’t need to win. I’ve won more than most people have in their whole lives.
“That [winning] is not important to me and it’s important that I keep reminding myself of that.
“I don’t have anything to prove, I don’t have anything to lose and everything here is just to gain.”
Williams has also signed up to play doubles in Berlin next week and did not rule out a return to singles in future – but said it was not in her immediate plans.
“I feel like I probably need to train a little bit more if I want to play singles and we’ll see if I get there,” she added.
“If not, that’s not my journey right now.”
