Andrea Petkovic ‘Refused’ to Start Show with Serena Williams’ Comeback News During French Open: “It Bothered Me”

When the French Open was underway, one player (then a former player) made global headlines because she was returning to tennis. She, in fact, dominated the news, and perhaps every media outlet that covered tennis rushed to report on it. The player, obviously, was Serena Williams.

There were speculations about her return since it came to light that she entered the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s (ITIA) drug testing pool last December. Williams confirmed the rumors recently through an Instagram video. At that time, the tennis world was focusing on the French Open, due to which former WTA player Andrea Petkovic wouldn’t start a show with Williams’ comeback news.

There’s one thing I have to say: [something] bothered me. I was hosting a show for this American TV station, and on the day they announced it [Williams’ return], they wanted me to open the show with that. I refused. I told them, there is a Grand Slam tournament just behind me, the players are dying in the heat.

Andrea Petkovic said on the Becker Petkovic podcast

Players indeed were suffering a great deal due to the heat. Eventual semifinalist Jakub Mensik collapsed after a grueling five-set battle in the second round. Casper Ruud felt he was “almost walking around like a zombie” during his first-round win. Last year’s runner-up Jannik Sinner, in fact, needed just a game win to win his second-round match but cramps and heat exhaustion saw him lose to Juan Manuel Cerundolo.

I refused to open the show with that. Serena is an absolute legend, but while a Major is underway, I’m not opening the show with that. I’ll report on it at some point, but I want to open the show with the players who are working their b***s off here. The Grand Slam wasn’t the most important thing anymore; Serena’s doubles comeback was more important.

Andrea Petkovic added

Williams returned to the tour at the Queen’s Club Championships. She played doubles alongside Canada’s Victoria Mboko, defeating the pair of Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez. But because the 19-year-old suffered an injury during her singles match against Karolina Pliskova, it also ended Williams’ doubles run.

Victoria Mboko sends message to Serena Williams after her Queen’s withdrawal

After her exit at the Queen’s, Victoria Mboko took to Instagram to reveal that the nasty fall during her opening-round singles match caused an injury to the MCL on her left knee. This has forced the teenager to miss the remainder of the grass swing, which means that she will not be competing at Wimbledon. She also had a message for Serena Williams.

Lastly, thank you Serena Williams for giving me this incredible opportunity to play alongside you. I learnt so much from you and am so sorry our tournament came to an end prematurely, but I hope we can play together again soon and finish what we started.

Mboko made her main draw debut at the grass-court Major last year and reached the second round, where Hailey Baptiste defeated her. The reigning Canadian Open champion has already played a final this year. Back in February, Mboko reached the final of the Qatar Open and lost the title to Karolina Muchova.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Victoria Mboko (@vickymboko)

Williams will next be competing at the Berlin Open alongside Muchova. The main draw of the Berlin Open starts on June 15. She has not received a wild card for Wimbledon, where, in singles, she won seven titles, while in doubles, she has won six titles alongside sister Venus Williams. The main draw of the grass-court Major starts on June 29. Williams last won a title in singles in this event in 2016.

Also read: Rafael Nadal Rules Out Full-Time Coaching Role but Leaves Door Open for Top ATP and WTA Stars