Will Serena Williams play at Wimbledon 2022 and what has she said about her future?

Serena Williams was back out on the court earlier this week as she made a winning comeback in a marathon doubles win at the Rothesay International at Eastbourne on Tuesday evening.

Partnering Ons Jabeur, the seven-time Wimbledon singles champion came through a real battle as the duo saw off Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo with a 2-6 6-3 13-11 win.

A quarter-final meeting with Shuko Aoyama and Hao-Ching Chan is next on the agenda for Williams - but a lot of the media focus has turned towards a shock return at Wimbledon.

What has Williams said about her comeback?

Speaking after making a winning comeback in a doubles win at Eastbourne, she said: “Did I ever doubt I would return? Absolutely, for sure. I would be dishonest if I said it wasn’t and now my body feels great.

“I definitely felt good out there and I was talking with Ons in the first set saying ‘we’re not playing bad’ because they were just playing really good in that first set.

“But obviously winning, getting more balls and playing a little bit more made us feel a lot better. It definitely felt reassuring. It has been clicking in practise and now it seems like it is clicking. It is doubles but it still means a lot to both of us to be in it.”

What has she said about her long-term future?

Continuing after that win, Williams addressed her future in tennis, saying: “You know what I am literally taking it one day at a time. I really took my time with my hamstring injury so I am not making a ton of decisions after this.

“I did a lot of non-training in the beginning obviously and after I couldn’t play New York I went cold turkey of not working out.

“It felt good but I always try to stay semi-fit because you never know when you are going to play Wimbledon. I love tennis and I love playing otherwise I wouldn’t be here but I also love what I do off the court.”

Will Williams compete at this year’s Wimbledon?

Williams confirmed her return to SW19 in an Instagram post released last week.

Connected to an image of her trainers, ankle braces and her tennis bag on grass was the caption ‘SW and SW19. It’s a date. 2022, see you there.”

Just hours later, the All England Club confirmed Williams will return as a singles competitor after she was awarded a wildcard.

Williams has not competed in singles competition since last year’s first round when she suffered a leg injury in her match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

However, she will return for this year’s event as she comes back to the scene of seven singles titles, six women’s doubles titles and one mixed doubles title.

When does this year’s tournament get underway and when is the draw?

Qualifying for this year’s Wimbledon main draw got underway on Monday and will conclude on Thursday.

The main draw ties get underway on Monday 27th June and the draw for the first round and the rest of the tournament will be made on Saturday 25th June.