Andy Murray Reveals If Serena Williams’ Comeback Tempted Him to Make Retirement U-Turn

Both Serena Williams and Andy Murray will return to Wimbledon. Williams as a player, while Murray as a coach.

Williams, through a Nike video on Instagram, announced that the rumors about her comeback are indeed true. She made her comeback at the Queen’s Club Championships, where she played doubles alongside Victoria Mboko.

Mboko’s injury during her singles match ended their doubles campaign, as they handed their second-round opponents a walkover. Later, Williams paired up with Karolina Muchova at the Berlin Open, but they suffered an opening-round exit.

Wimbledon recently announced the wild cards. The 23-time Major singles champion and her sister, Venus Williams, also got them for doubles. The Williams sisters, winners of 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, last won this title at the 2016 Wimbledon.

Also in 2016, Murray won the Wimbledon singles title, his career’s second Major. The Brit, during his interview with BBC Sport, said he wasn’t much surprised about Williams’ return because of a conversation he had with her.

She asked if I missed playing. I was like, ‘not at all, to be honest.’ She said, ‘Yes, I miss it every single day. I absolutely loved competing, love playing. If I could, I’d be back out there again.’ To see her back on the court competing, playing doubles with her sister at Wimbledon. It’s brilliant for tennis. To achieve that much success in such a challenging sport and to do it for as long as they have and remain so in love with the game at the stage of their lives that they’re at is brilliant to see.

Venus, even though she stopped playing due to physical setbacks, never officially hung up her racket. She returned to competing in last year’s Citi Open and has played quite a few singles tournaments this year, failing to win a single match.

As much as I would love to, I don’t think I’d physically be capable of doing that. I haven’t missed the sport enough yet to want to get on the court and even hit tennis balls. I don’t mind hitting the occasional ball if it’s required on the practice court, but I don’t think 44-year-old me will be competing.

Andy Murray added

The 44-year-old said she needed to train a bit more to play singles. Williams’ last singles match was against Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the 2022 US Open, while her last singles title was the 2020 ASB Classic, which she won by defeating countrywoman Jessica Pegula.

Jack Draper on working with coach Andy Murray

Jack Draper will finally be seen in action for the first time since the Barcelona Open. He will be competing at the Eastbourne International, with his first opponent being Brandon Nakashima.

And it will also be his first tournament under coach Andy Murray. Draper, during his recent interview with The Times, revealed what he found weird about the Scot.

He’s a bit calmer than I am, which is weird when you think about it. He’s quite analytical, quite technical. Our personalities are maybe a bit different. For instance, after his career, he’s chosen to play golf. I just couldn’t do it. I’d be out there for nine holes, and my brain would be on other things. He’s always been very good at focusing on the task.

This is the second time Murray will be coaching a player. In his first coaching job, he worked with his old foe Novak Djokovic, joining his team about four months after retirement at the Paris Olympics. The partnership did not last for more than six months. But under Murray, Djokovic reached the semifinal of last year’s Australian Open and the final of the Miami Open.

Also read: Jack Draper Reveals Andy Murray’s Guidance Through his Darkest Injury Months