Serena is playing doubles to see how her body responds and if she can handle it

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Serena Williams has starred in one of the bombshells of the year by returning to the WTA circuit. Although she currently states that it's only to play doubles tournaments, Andrea Petkovic doesn't believe her words and has stated that she thinks Serena is testing herself to make the leap to singles tournaments if she sees that her body responds optimally. 

After debuting at WTA Queen's alongside Victoria Mboko triumphantly and displaying a great level, Serena stated that, for now, playing singles was not on her mind, and that she was playing doubles because she missed the competition. However, for Petkovic, this is a bluff, as she believes that the GOAT of women's tennis is testing herself physically to see if she has the sufficient level to set aside doubles and focus on her main goal, as she claims on her show 'Becker Petkovic'.

"In my opinion, no one in this world, no athlete in the world, voluntarily returns to these anti-doping protocols, and especially not Serena Williams. You give up part of your freedom, your life. They know where you are every day at all hours and can visit you every day at any time. They usually come at five in the morning, just to mess with you. Excuse my language, but it's the truth. Nobody does this, Boris, just to play a bit of doubles. I think she is playing doubles to see how her body responds and if she can handle it," she concluded.

Petkovic is surprised by Serena Williams' level

After almost 4 years of inactivity, Serena has made a strong comeback, although she could only play one match in Queen's due to Mboko's injury. However, she will also play doubles at the WTA Berlin alongside Karolina Muchova as her final preparatory tournament before Wimbledon 2026, where she is expected to play in the doubles draw alongside her sister Venus Williams, with whom she has won the tournament up to 6 times. 

In fact, Petkovic was surprised by the level shown by Serena in her return, as if time had not passed for her. "I watched her match and I have to say, Boris, she was fantastic. Serving at 120 miles per hour. The stadium was full, with all seats sold out to the last one. If she can transfer that to singles matches, I would never do it, but good for her," she stated.

Petkovic's controversial words about Serena Williams' comeback

However, she was also very critical of the hype surrounding her return during Roland Garros, something she does not agree with because there were more important things at stake at that moment. "It bothered me. I hosted a program for CNN, and the day they announced her return, they wanted me to start the show talking about that. I refused. I told them that right behind me, a Grand Slam tournament was taking place and the players were roasting in the heat. I refused to start the show with that." According to Petkovic, "Serena is an absolute legend, but as long as a major tournament is happening, I won't start the show with that. I'll tell you more details at some point, but I want to start the show talking about the players who are putting in their maximum effort here. The Grand Slam was no longer the most important thing; Serena's return to doubles was more important," Andrea concluded, with statements that will stir up controversy. 

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, "Serena está jugando dobles para ver cómo responde su cuerpo y si puede soportarlo"