Serena Williams Drops Honest Quotes About Doubts, Nerves, Expectations Ahead of Wimbledon Return

Ahead of her first appearance at Wimbledon in four years, 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams spoke candidly about her iconic return.

"I never thought I'd be back here sitting in front of this," Williams said at her Wimbledon press conference on Sunday. "We all know how I feel about this, so I never thought I would do this again."

Williams stepped away from tennis in 2022, announcing that she planned to "evolve away" from the sport. She re-entered the doping testing pool last year and returned to competition earlier this month in doubles competition. She received a wild card to play in the singles and doubles draws at Wimbledon, and she will play her first singles match on Tuesday against 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint. She will play alongside her older sister, Venus, in doubles.

"When I evolved, I never thought I would come back," Williams said.

The 44-year-old indicated that this could be her last opportunity to compete at Wimbledon, so she couldn't turn down the chance to chase another major title.

"I thought I should really take this opportunity. Who knows if I'll ever make it here again. This could be it," Williams said, per the Associated Press. "I was like, 'What's wrong with me, Serena? What are you thinking? Are you nuts? Like you really should do this.' People live to be an athlete. I have this great opportunity to showcase what I do, what I do best, I suppose. Yeah, I think ultimately I was like that is pretty cool, so I should do it."

Williams said she's studied her upcoming opponent and is looking forward to facing Joint.

"Yeah, actually I know her. I've watched some of her videos," she said, pausing for a moment before adding, "I'm sure she knows my game."

When asked when she decided to return to Wimbledon, Williams revealed that she waited until the last minute. She added that she'll be bringing a different mindset to the major tournament.

"I had until Monday to decide and I think it was on Sunday because I just wasn't sure up until then. Honestly, I'm still not even sure, but we'll see," she said. "I think in general, my expectations are definitely different for the first time in my career. And I feel like my feelings are just, not that I never enjoyed it before or else I wouldn't be here today, but I feel like I'm really going to enjoy being out there."

Still, Williams admitted that she will feel the same jitters that she's felt throughout her legendary career when she takes the grass on Tuesday.

"I expect to be nervous. I was also nervous every single match that I've ever played in my life," she said. "And I think that showed the passion and the love and the care that I cared about my job, whether it was the first round or the second round or the finals. I've always had some nerves, but then I just dust them off and then, you know, I move on. So, I definitely expect to have those same feelings."