Asheville (United States): Serena Williams made her long-awaited comeback to the tennis court alongside elder sister Venus Williams after the United States sealed a decisive 3-1 victory over the Netherlands in their defence of the Fed Cup here, Monday.
The 36-year-old played her first competitive match since winning her 23rd Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open before taking a break from the sport as she gave birth to her daughter Alexis Olympia last September. This is also first time the sisters have played doubles together in this tournament since 2003.
The Williams duo, who have combined to win 22 doubles titles, were outgunned 2-6, 3-6 by the unheralded Dutch pairing of Lesley Kerkhove and Demi Schuurs who were playing in their first ever outing together. Serena appeared particularly slow on her feet and was poor in her shot selection after more than a year away from the sport.
“It felt really good to be back the court. I’ve been training and it was just exciting to be out there,” Serena said after the match. “I honestly feel better than I thought I was gonna feel, I feel like I didn’t expect to play you know like that for me. So I feel like that I’m on the right track.”
US will face France in the semifinal which is scheduled to take place in April.
agence france-presse
