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Serena says she doesn’t need to win. An Aussie great isn’t buying it
By Marc McGowan
Sam Stosur isn’t buying Serena Williams’ personal narrative in this unlikeliest of comebacks.
“I don’t need to win,” is Williams’ public war cry for her highly anticipated Wimbledon return, almost four years after she lost what was supposed to be the last singles match of her extraordinary career to Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic at the 2022 US Open.
Williams is a 23-time grand slam champion – seven of those titles were won at the All England club – who sits comfortably alongside fellow greats Margaret Court, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Helen Wills Moody.
Sports leviathans Michael Jordan, George Foreman, Michael Phelps and Mario Lemieux made comebacks after years away with mixed results.
Like Williams, Kim Clijsters, Caroline Wozniacki, Naomi Osaka, Elina Svitolina and Belinda Bencic returned to tennis after giving birth. But they were all far younger than Williams.
The 44-year-old mother of two, who plays Australian up-and-comer Maya Joint on centre court early on Wednesday morning (AEST), is adamant she has nothing to prove, which her big sister Venus echoed when she spoke to reporters on Saturday.
Welcome
By Hannah Kennelly
Good evening,
Welcome to our Wimbledon live blog. I’m Hannah Kennelly and thanks so much for joining us.
Aussie Alex de Minaur’s tournament begins tonight, after 9.10pm.
We’ll bring you live updates and we’ve got tennis reporter Marc McGowan in London providing insight and analysis.
Grab your popcorn and stay tuned
The Quentin Tarantino movie that helped inspire Osaka’s Wimbledon entrance
By Marc McGowan
Another grand slam, another grand entrance from Naomi Osaka.
The Japanese former world No.1 made global headlines at this year’s Australian Open when she strode onto Rod Laver Arena in a lavish, jellyfish-inspired outfit before continuing her fashion tour in a glittering gold ensemble at Roland-Garros.
Now, it was Wimbledon’s turn.
Abiding by the All England club’s strict all-white policy, Osaka walked out for her first-round match – which she won 6-1, 7-5 over France’s Elsa Jacquemot – in what British Vogue described as a “love letter to Japanese ceremonial dress”.
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