Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
Sports
Home / Sports / Tennis

New mum Serena back in the swing as Aussie Open looms

China Daily | Updated: 2017-12-26 09:06
Share
Share - WeChat
Serena Williams will make her comeback from maternity leave at an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. [VCG File]

ABU DHABI - Former world No 1 Serena Williams will make a surprise comeback at the Mubadala exhibition event in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, as the American gears up for her Australian Open title defense in January.

The decision to play in the United Arab Emirates all but confirms Williams' participation at Melbourne Park.

The 36-year-old has not played since clinching a 23rd Grand Slam singles title 11 months ago, after revealing she was pregnant during the tournament and taking time off to give birth to her first child, Alexis Olympia, in September.

Williams will return with a match against Latvia's French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, making them the first women to compete in the previously male-only event.

"I am delighted to be returning to the court in Abu Dhabi for the first time since the birth of my daughter," Williams said in a statement released by tournament organizers on Sunday.

"The Mubadala World Tennis Championship has long marked the beginning of the men's global tennis season and I am excited and honored to be making my comeback as part of the first women to participate in the event."

The former world No 1 can equal Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 Grand Slam titles, although she will have to make do with a low seeding Down Under after slipping to 22nd in the rankings.

Williams' comeback raises the prospect of a renewal of her rivalry with Maria Sharapova following the Russian's own comeback earlier this year from a doping ban.

It also provides a boost to the Australian Open after two-time champion Victoria Azarenka pulled out of the warm-up event in Auckland over the ongoing custody battle that has stopped the Belarusian from playing since Wimbledon in July.

Serena claimed an Openera record 23rd major title by beating older sister Venus 6-4, 6-4 in this year's Australian Open final, a feat made all the more remarkable by the fact that she was two months pregnant.

Ostapenko broke through with a stunning French Open title, and the 20-year-old will take on Serena for the first time.

The Mubadala event had already seen men's world No 1 Rafael Nadal and three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka withdraw.

The six-strong men's field in Abu Dhabi does feature Serb Novak Djokovic, who will also be making his comeback, from an elbow injury.

The 12-time Grand Slam champion has not played competitively since his quarterfinal loss to Tomas Berdych at Wimbledon.

1 2 Next   >>|

Most Popular

Highlights

What's Hot
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 亚洲av中文无码乱人伦在线观看| 国产av人人夜夜澡人人爽| www.狠狠操| 日韩成人免费aa在线看| 亚洲色欲久久久久综合网| 被公连续侵犯中文字幕| 国产精品国语自产拍在线观看| 一本大道在线无码一区| 日韩有码第一页| 亚洲激情视频图片| 精品国产一二三区在线影院| 国产在线无码精品电影网| 8x视频在线观看| 好男人在线社区www在线视频一 | 国产精品成年片在线观看| 一本大道久久东京热无码AV| 日韩1区2区3区| 亚洲人成色7777在线观看不卡| 男人扒开女人下面狂躁动漫版| 国产一区二区三区不卡在线观看 | 故意打开双腿让翁公看| 亚洲av无码日韩av无码网站冲| 波多野结衣乱码中文字幕| 午夜性福利视频| 里番本子侵犯肉全彩3d| 国产禁女女网站免费看| 97精品免费视频| 好男人社区成人影院在线观看| 中日韩国语视频在线观看| 日韩高清在线日韩大片观看网址| 亚洲日本在线观看网址| 男人日女人动态视频| 向日葵视频app免费下载| 香蕉97碰碰视频免费| 国产福利91精品一区二区| 4jzbtv四季彩app下载| 处女的第一次电影| xxxxx做受大片视频免费| 成年人免费视频观看| 久久人人爽人人爽大片aw| 晓雪老师下面好紧好湿|