Serena Williams announces her return to the court
She’s back.
After dropping hints in recent weeks, Serena Williams announced on Sunday that she’ll be returning to tennis when she faces defending French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in an exhibition on Dec. 30.
The match will take place at Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi.
Williams gave birth to her daughter Alexis in September and hasn’t played in a tournament since winning last January’s Australian Open. She is expected to defend her title in Melbourne. Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles and is one short of Margaret Court’s all-time record.
The Australian Open starts on Jan. 15.
Williams released a statement about her return:
“I am delighted to be returning to the court in Abu Dhabi for the first time since the birth of my daughter in September. The Mubadala World Tennis Championship has long marked the beginning of the men’s global tennis season and I am excited and honoured to be making my comeback as part of the first women to participate in the event.”
While work will beckon soon enough, Williams also showed on social media that she’s savoring Alexis’ first Christmas, posting a holiday-themed selfie of the pair:
A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Dec 24, 2017 at 6:09am PST
