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By Megan Armstrong
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If you're beside yourself at the sight of Serena Williams playing tennis again, you're not the only one.
Serena Williams can't believe it, either.
"When I evolved, I never thought I'd come back," Williams said during her first Wimbledon press conference.
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The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion played her first professional tennis match since the 2022 US Open when she and Victoria Mboko competed in doubles at the HSBC Championships on June 9. Williams then teamed with Karolina Muchova for the doubles draw at the Berlin Tennis Open the following week.
And now, Williams, 44, will return to singles as a wild card at Wimbledon next week.
"I had until Monday to decide," Williams also said at her press conference. "I think it was, like, Sunday because I just wasn't sure up until then. Honestly, I'm still not even sure, but we'll see."
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"I expect to be nervous," Williams later added. "I was also nervous every single match I ever played in my life. I think that showed the passion and the love and the care — that I cared about my job. Whether it was the first round or the second round or the finals, I've always had some nerves. But then I just dust 'em off, then I move on."
Williams disclosed that she had to give herself a pep talk — "What's wrong with me, Serena? What are you thinking? Are you nuts?" — when flip-flopping on whether to accept the Wimbledon wild card. Ultimately, she said, she couldn't pass up the opportunity because it may never come again.
Williams has won seven Wimbledon singles titles, most recently in 2016. She will face Australia's Maya Joint, 20, Tuesday, June 30. She is also competing in doubles with her sister, Venus Williams, 46. They have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together, including six at Wimbledon.
Watch Serena Williams' full Wimbledon presser below.
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