Tennis-Serena Williams gets Wimbledon wildcard, to make return at Eastbourne (updated)
14/06/2022 15:16
(Adds details, quotes)
June 14 (Reuters) - Former world number one Serena Williams
has received a wildcard for Wimbledon and will return to action
after a year out when she competes in the doubles at the
Eastbourne International.
Williams, 40, has not played on the Tour since a first-round
exit at Wimbledon last year due to injury but the All England
Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) announced she was one of six women to
receive a wildcard.
She will first team up with Tunisian world number four Ons
Jabeur for the doubles event at Eastbourne which gets underway
this weekend.
"SW and SW19. It's a date. 2022 See you there," Williams
wrote on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CeyIHfeuVLh on
Tuesday, referring to the postcode of the AELTC which hosts
Wimbledon.
Britain's Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) confirmed the
23-times Grand Slam champion and Jabeur were in the doubles draw
at Eastbourne, which will be conducted on Saturday. But they are
not likely to play their first match before Tuesday.
"I am excited to return to the Rothesay International
tournament in England and to be back on the grass - a surface
that has been so good to me throughout my career," Williams said
in a statement.
"Eastbourne has a unique charm that you don't see anywhere
else on Tour and I'm looking forward to playing in front of the
fans again."
The American, now ranked 1,208 in the world, has won
Wimbledon seven times in her career. Wimbledon begins on June
27.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris
and Christian Radnedge)
((Rohith.Nair@thomsonreuters.com;))