Serena Williams teases return to competitive tennis, says Tom Brady ‘started a really cool trend’
Published on September 22 2013 1:03 am
By Paul Lukather
Serena Williams is in prime position after winning the Wimbledon women’s title.
But she may not be so lucky next year.
The “All That” Olympic champion announced Monday that she will not compete at the 2015 US Open because she wants to devote her time to improving her physical condition.
It is not Williams’ first brush with professional sport. While she is an established tennis star, she also had stints in golf, auto racing and, last year, a cameo in the Hollywood movie “Fast and Furious 6.”
Yet she said she chose the US Open — where she had won her three major titles and where she had always been the favorite — because she needed to focus on her training — which she is doing at the Los Angeles Tennis Center in Los Angeles.
The 36-year-old said she plans to take three months off to recover from the surgery she had performed last year to repair a torn tendon in her left knee.
“I really want to take all my time when I’m not playing to get back into my physical shape again,” she said in a media conference. “This is one of the most intense years of my career and I need to put all my attention into getting back my physical shape.”
Williams, who won the Wimbledon title in 2011 and 2013, said she has been playing tennis for 37 years, adding: “I can hardly believe this is my fifth Wimbledon final.”
She was also asked about a “fanciful” story that has been circulating online about her “sex appeal” and her body.
“I’ve always tried to put myself out there,” she said. “At least I don’t look like someone who’s going to be on the cover of a magazine.”
Williams is the first of three women to successfully defend a major title in the Open era. She is the sixth player at the top of the women’s game to win consecutive major titles, and the first to do it in the Open era.
It also has been nearly 40 years since a woman has
