The day Serena Williams returned and tennis got a hero back

CNN

By Ben Church, CNN

London (CNN) — It’s hard to have much rock ‘n roll in tennis. The sport just doesn’t lend itself to such, especially during prestigious grass-court tournaments in leafy London suburbs such as this year’s Queen’s Club Championships.

But when Serena Williams walked out on court for her first tennis match in almost four years on Tuesday, it did kind of feel a bit rock ‘n roll – a bit cool, a bit like this shouldn’t really be happening.

But instead of Oasis wearing parka jackets and strumming guitars on Wembley Stadium’s stage, this was one of the world’s greatest athletes, in bright pink sneakers, grasping her tennis racket.

It was a bit surreal, in truth, to see Williams grace the court again. It was almost as if you’d stepped into some montage of tennis’ greatest ever moments on YouTube. It felt rare, it felt special and everyone crammed into the Andy Murray Arena felt lucky to be there.

So when Williams walked out of the locker room, following her teenage teammate Victoria Mboko down the stairs toward the court, the reaction she got from the sold-out crowd came as little surprise.

But there was no wave to her adoring fans from Williams, no acknowledgment that this was anything out of the ordinary for her. This may not be prime Serena, but it was a 44-year-old fully focused on the job at hand.

Even when the stadium announcer ran through her list of career achievements to yet more frenzied cheering from the stands, Williams didn’t stray from her warmup. She was calm, relaxed and held that inner steel that has made her such a formidable opponent over the years.

It was a level of focus that didn’t wane. Despite sending her first shot into the net, Williams didn’t miss with her second or third touches of the match. The second shot was an aggressive volley that was just about returned, but her third saw Williams swat the return volley away, accompanied by that trademark grunt that’s echoed around tennis venues for decades.

Her first winner of the match was cheered so loudly by the crowd that many spectators stood to applaud. One fan sitting just behind Williams’ family literally screamed with excitement, pumping her fist in the air and turning to hype up the crowd.

It was just a regular point, but was celebrated by her supporters like a grand slam victory.

Speaking to reporters during a news conference on Sunday, Williams said part of her decision to return was so her daughters could watch her play.

Williams’ family was, of course, courtside for the match, sitting together in the stand behind the baseline, with young Adira sitting on her father’s lap. Knowing they’ve watched their superstar mom come back to shine on court will no doubt serve as huge motivation to both her daughters one day, but in the short term, her children served up a dose of reality to Williams after the match.

She told reporters that one wanted to go to the toy store, while the other asked what was for dinner.

Pure focus on the tennis

The Williams family was also joined by several familiar faces around the stands, such as US skier Lindsey Vonn – someone who knows a thing or two about comebacks.

Most would have been content with just seeing Williams on court, but the fact she and Mboko won in straight sets makes the astonishing context even more remarkable.

Despite her absence from the sport, the veteran didn’t look out of place at all. She still possessed that power, that grit and that ability to pull a bit of magic out of nowhere.

And while it felt a bit special to everyone else watching, Williams said it all felt quite normal to her.

“I think that’s the beauty of being an athlete and the importance of, you know, concentrating,” she told reporters after the win, saying she felt a bit nervous 30 minutes before she stepped out.

“I feel like once you get there, and understand that it doesn’t matter what’s going on in the outside world, it’s always what you’re there for, that really helps.”

Media buzz

Such was the interest in Williams that several tennis journalists left the French Open early to attend the Queen’s Club media day on Sunday, where the 23-time singles champion spoke to reporters. All of a sudden, watching the men’s grand slam final wasn’t quite as important as the return of a living legend.

That level of interest continued into Tuesday, with cameras lining her practice court as she waited for her match on a sunny London afternoon.

“Insane,” is how one member of staff at the media center described the surge in media attention when Serena confirmed her return. “It’s just incredible.”

There hadn’t been this kind of buzz around this tournament since home favorite Andy Murray was walking the halls. Now the court named in his honor was playing host to the hottest seat in tennis – think Knicks vs. Spurs-like demand.

The fans followed as well – the day was already close to selling out before Williams’ announcement, but the remaining seats were snapped up as soon as her participation was made public.

“I missed you, Serena,” was one of the dozens of shouts from the crowd throughout a brilliant match.

In many ways, it slightly – and rightly – overshadowed the other games on the schedule for Tuesday. After winning her singles match earlier in the day, British player Katie Boulter joked that she hoped to see some of her fans over on Court 1 as she played in the doubles at the same time as the Williams match.

“I totally get it,” she laughed, resigned to the fact that many would be sticking on the Andy Murray Arena to watch the former world No. 1 take to the grass.

Boulter herself came back to watch a bit of the match as well, snapping a picture of Williams in action from a balcony looking over the court. She just couldn’t miss it, even if it rushed preparation for her own match, it seemed.

It was fitting that it was left to Williams to serve out the match and she did so with ease. The American crashed two aces to make it 40-15, before rattling another serve over the net that her opponent could only throw a racket at.

That steely gaze softened a touch when she knew the win was in the bag, and that beaming smile was there for all to see when she spoke to reporters alongside Mboko.

“I give myself a C-,” Williams laughed when asked to mark her own performance. “I had fun.”

What next?

Attention naturally now turns to what’s next. In the short term, that’s clear. Williams and Mboko have a quarterfinal here at Queen’s Club. Depending on what happens with that, Williams will then head to the Berlin Open next week.

What happens after that is still to be decided, but the draw of Wimbledon may be too hard to resist.

“It’s a day at a time. I still have time to decide,” she said when asked about playing doubles at the grass-court major next month.

In truth, a lot has changed in tennis since Williams stepped away. And while there is undoubted quality with the likes of Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka leading the game, it does seem to be missing a touch of star quality when compared to the scene just four years ago.

On Tuesday, though, tennis got one of its heroes back and it looks like she’s here to stay for a little while.

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