Serena’s Coach gives fresh update after Wimbledon heartbreak

Serena Williams’ coach, Rennae Stubbs, has confirmed that the US veteran tennis star wants to play competitive singles tournaments prior to the US Open.

This marks a shift from her Wimbledon strategy, where she played only doubles before going straight into singles at Wimbledon.

The former World No. 1 is targeting WTA 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati to gain singles match play before the US Open begins on August 30.

Stubbs acknowledged that whether Serena actually competes in these summer hard-court events depends entirely on her physical recovery and how the fluid in her knee responds to treatment.

“I’ll leave it to her to discuss her medical stuff and how she’s feeling but I know that for her, trying to play, certainly something before the US Open will be something she would like to do.

“She doesn’t want to go and do what she did here, which was just play singles, at the US Open, but at the same time it’s going to depend on physically how she’s doing.”

“She’s got a lot of things to consider, her family, her businesses. But her goal is to keep going.

“Getting on the hard court will be a lot more stable for her. And we all know how well she plays on hard court. So it’s just a matter of getting her body back into the shape she wants. And then we’ll see.”

The next big tournament after Wimbledon is at the National Bank Open in Toronto (1000 event), which starts on 2 August. However, on 27 July, there is a 500 WTA Tour competition in Washington.

The Cincinnati Open begins on 13 August, before the US Open itself gets underway on 30 August. Whether Serena can get some wins under her belt before then remains to be seen.