Serena Williams reveals motivation behind stunning return to tennis

Williams will be back on the court in a professional capacity for the first time since 2022 when she takes part in the London tournament, but her return comes just a few months after she took to social media to dampen hype she was preparing to come back.

She said that was true at the time but 'for lack of a better explanation', it became a question of why not.

"In December, I definitely was not [thinking of coming back]," she said in her pre-tournament press conference. "And then I was just talking to a few people, and just, you know, chatting about different possibilities of just having fun, and something a little bit different.

"And so just kept talking and talking, and then I was like why not? For lack of a better explanation."

Her return comes in the form of doubles but of course there is always the question of does this proceed a singles return but Williams said she was not putting any pressure on anything.

"This whole journey is like I'm putting no pressure on myself," she said. "I've had enough pressure, and for me right now, it's really just about so many elements.

"It's really about my kids getting to see me play. It's also just, an athlete is like the best thing that you can be in the highest place, and having an opportunity to still be able to possibly do that one last time is kind of cool and exciting, and so there's a little bit of that too.

"But for singles, I can't say right now. Now, I feel like I probably need to train a little bit more if I want to play singles, and we'll see if I get there, and if not, that's that's not my journey right now."

As for Queen's, Williams said winning was not a crucial part of her return and said that she has already won more than most ever will.

"I don't need to win," she said. "I've won more than most people have in their whole lives.

"So for me, that is not important to me, and it's important that I keep reminding myself of that, because I don't have anything to prove.

"I don't have anything to lose, and everything here is just to gain."

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