Serena Williams' Coach Says Tennis Star 'Clearly' Returned to Action Too Early

Serena Williams returned to the court too early following the birth of her daughter last September, according to her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou.

He has insisted, though, that the 36-year-old American is capable of winning this month's French Open despite only appearing twice this year in disappointing performances at Indian Wells and the Miami Open in March, per Mark Hodgkinson on WTATennis.com:

"Serena will play the French Open to win it. Can she do it? Serena can achieve anything - after being her coach for six years, I'm even more sure of that statement...

"Serena clearly came back too early. She was not ready yet but needed to feel the competition, so she decided to play even though she was far from being at 100 per cent. It was a good experience as she realised all the work that needed to be done in order for her to be really ready."

Since her first-round defeat to Naomi Osaka in March, Williams has withdrawn from tournaments in Madrid and Rome, so she will have had no competitive clay-court preparation heading to Roland Garros.

It will be her first appearance at a Grand Slam since she won the 2017 Australian Open before announcing her pregnancy.

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That triumph in Melbourne saw her eclipse Steffi Graf with an Open-era record 23 Grand Slam titles.

Serena beat her sister, Venus, in the 2017 Australian Open final, before then losing to her in the third round at Indian Wells earlier this year following wins against Zarina Diyas and Kiki Bertens.

Due to her long absence from the court, Williams is currently ranked No. 454 in the world.

That is, of course, a false position, but it will still be a huge ask for her to come straight back in and win the French Open.

She has triumphed three times before at Roland Garros—in 2002, 2013 and 2015—but it seems more likely she will be able to make a proper run at the title come Wimbledon in July, where she is a seven-time champion.