Serena Williams is speaking out following her unexpected Wimbledon loss.
via People:
After Harmony Tan of France defeated the tennis legend in her first singles match in a year, Williams, 40, opened up about her return to the courts on Instagram Tuesday, calling it “insane and intense.”
“Not the result I came for, but my goodness I enjoyed that,” she wrote in the caption alongside a picture of herself waving to the crowd. “I hope you did as well. Onward and up. ????”
Tuesday’s match came down to an epic tie-breaker after Tan, 24, and Williams competed for a total of three hours and 10 minutes. The game saw Williams struggle during the first set, which ended in Tan’s favor. But Williams came out strong in the second set with a dominant performance, winning 6-1.
The first-round defeat comes almost exactly one year after Williams suffered a hamstring tear that kept her from advancing past the first round.
After the 2021 match, Williams told BBC she felt her future was in doubt while recovering from the injury, which she sustained while facing Aliaksandra Sasnovich at Wimbledon in 2021.
Williams first teased an appearance at 2022 Wimbledon in an April post to her Instagram Story featuring Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
“We’ve been talking about my comeback, and he’s been hyping me up and getting me ready for Wimbledon,” Williams told her followers of Rodgers, 38.
However, Williams noted that she had been taking her recovery “one day [at] a time.”
Tan will face Sara Sorribes Tormo, the 32nd-seeded player from Spain, in the second round.
Better luck next time!
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