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Serena Williams appeared to say goodbye to tennis this summer after losing in the third round of the US Open. The 23-time Grand Slam champion has since hinted that she could make a return to the court, but her long-time friend Caroline Wozniacki is not so sure. The former world No. 1 thinks Williams has “so many things going on” to make a comeback on the WTA Tour.
Caroline Wozniacki does not expect Serena Williams to return to play professional tennis.
Williams, 41, retired after the US Open in the summer, saying she is “evolving” away from the sport. She has since teased that she could make a comeback and the chances of her playing again are “very high”.
But former world No. 1 Wozniacki thinks it is unlikely that her long-time friend Williams will return to the tour.
“I don’t think so. If she plays an exhibition I think that would be lucky but I don’t see her back playing on tour. There are just so many things going on,” she said on Tennis Channel.
“I think she loves the game so much and it’s been her life for so many years. But at the same time, she is busy. I don’t think we will see her on a professional tennis court again.”
Wozniacki retired in 2020 and her last doubles match was alongside Williams in New Zealand.
The pair played each other 11 times on tour, with Williams winning every encounter except for in Miami in 2012. They met in the final of the 2014 US Open, the semi-finals of the 2011 US Open and twice in the semi-finals of the WTA Finals (2009 and 2014).
“Playing at the same time as her was tough because there were a lot of tournaments and Grand Slams that I felt that I could have probably won if she hadn’t been in my way,” said 2018 Australian Open champion Wozniacki.
“But at the same time what an honour it has been to have been there at the same time as her because I got to play against the best player to ever play this game.
“To push me and everybody else to get better and play longer and take care of your body and prove that you can do whatever you put your mind to. Whatever your dreams are, they are possible, she proved that.
“I think it was incredible to share the court with her, play against her, and I gain a lifelong friend along the way.”
Williams was one of Wozniacki’s bridesmaids at her wedding in 2019. The 23-time Grand Slam champion also greeted Wozniacki at the finish line when she completed the New York Marathon in 2014.
“She is just a great person. She is not only, in my opinion, the greatest tennis player of all time, the greatest that I played against, and she pushed me and all the other women to play better and step up,” said Wozniacki.
“But also off the court, she is so thoughtful. She is the first person to call me if I went through anything to make sure I was okay. I really appreciate that.”
It seemed Williams had said goodbye to tennis after losing to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the US Open in September.
However, speaking six weeks later, Williams suggested her career might not be over.
“I am not retired,” Williams said at a conference in San Francisco.
“The chances (of a return) are very high. You can come to my house, I have a court.”
Williams ended her career on 23 Grand Slam titles, one short of Margaret Court’s all-time record.
