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Will Serena Williams Return As the No. 1 Player in 2017?
- Updated: January 6, 2017
Serena Williams lost a second-round match at the ASB Classic on Wednesday, but it will only awaken the American superstar to find her form before the Australian Open draw on Jan. 13.
After not playing competitive tour tennis since the U.S. Open and all but relinquishing her No. 1 ranking to Angelique Kerber, Serena is putting on her game face.
“This is almost not a great opportunity to assess your game, to be honest,” Serena said to the AAP (via ESPN), rankled by her 88 unforced errors and the windy conditions. “You really have to go back to the drawing board, because it’s quite frankly unprofessional.”
The biggest takeaway is Serena’s fire. She has no intention of coasting along in 2017 while emerging rivals hold up Grand Slam trophies. The majors are her tournaments to win or lose, health permitting, and she knows it.
After four months of rest and healing from an injury-plagued 2016 that still saw her come away with the Wimbledon title and the No. 2 ranking, Serena will be restless and willing to win a record-breaking 23rd career major.
More than 22, but 30?
Serena produced one of the most dominating stretches in history, winning nine majors from Wimbledon 2012 through Wimbledon 2016 and spending 186 consecutive weeks at No. 1. She slowed down when Kerber won the Australian and U.S. Opens. She also had to pace herself through only 44 matches because of persistent knee and shoulder inflammations.
But coach Patrick Mouratoglou said that Serena is ready for …
