Serena Williams returned to the tennis court today at Wimbledon and came away with an emotional win, defeating her first-round competitor Aravane Rezai in three sets.
The victory is significant to Williams, who has played in just two matches since winning the women’s singles title last year at Wimbledon. She has been away from the game for 11 months following two operations to repair a torn tendon in her right foot and then spent additional time in the hospital to recover from blood clots in both lungs and a hematoma that required more surgery, reported the New York Times.
After her win today, the Los Angeles Times reported that Williams sat down in her chair, grabbed a towel, covered her face and began sobbing. This is an unusual occurrence for the tennis star, who is no stranger to winning. “It’s just been so hard,” she told the BBC moments after the match, as reported by ESPN. “I never dreamt I’d be here. It was really a big win for me.”
She continued, “It’s been a disaster year. I’ve been praying to be able to come back at Wimbledon. I didn’t expect to play. I didn’t expect to do anything.”
In the match against Rezai, Williams, who has won 13 Grand Slam titles, showed that she hasn’t lost her game after being away from the court for so long. Although she was down two games at the start of the match, she managed to turn things around and win the first set. However, Rezai made Williams run more in the second set, and there were times when Williams seemed unable to catch her breath, reported the Los Angeles Times.
Williams lost the second set but came back to win the third, finishing off the match with an ace. She now advances to the second round of the tournament.
The victory is significant to Williams, who has played in just two matches since winning the women’s singles title last year at Wimbledon. She has been away from the game for 11 months following two operations to repair a torn tendon in her right foot and then spent additional time in the hospital to recover from blood clots in both lungs and a hematoma that required more surgery, reported the New York Times.
After her win today, the Los Angeles Times reported that Williams sat down in her chair, grabbed a towel, covered her face and began sobbing. This is an unusual occurrence for the tennis star, who is no stranger to winning. “It’s just been so hard,” she told the BBC moments after the match, as reported by ESPN. “I never dreamt I’d be here. It was really a big win for me.”
In the match against Rezai, Williams, who has won 13 Grand Slam titles, showed that she hasn’t lost her game after being away from the court for so long. Although she was down two games at the start of the match, she managed to turn things around and win the first set. However, Rezai made Williams run more in the second set, and there were times when Williams seemed unable to catch her breath, reported the Los Angeles Times.
Williams lost the second set but came back to win the third, finishing off the match with an ace. She now advances to the second round of the tournament.
