Serena Williams is keeping in perfect shape a few weeks after returning to the court after a long hiatus, defeating Martina Hingis with a score of 5-3 in World Team Tennis.
“It’s good to be back. I love playing. I really enjoyed myself out there. It was a long day, but at last I arrived.”
Williams took almost a year off after a series of injuries and successive surgeries due to health problems before she finally went back to play at the Eastbourne International. She kept in shape by playing mixed doubles and women’s doubles with her team the Washington Kastles, who edged the New York Sportimes by several points in the lead. Her win over Hingis gives her team the 18-15 lead over the opponent with only the men’s doubles match left.
Despite the lack of a proper warm-up and practice, Williams immediately got on the court after arriving for the tournament. Williams and partner Leander Paes lost the mixed doubles against Hingis and Travis Parrott. However, she made up for the loss by winning the women’s doubles with partner Rennae Stubs, with the pair defeating Hingis and Katie O’Brien with a 5-2 score with Williams serving up a love game to give the Kastles a 4-1 lead.
“I love playing Martina,” Williams said after her win over Hingis. “She’s such a good player, and more than anything, she’s a great practice for me for these tournaments that I have got coming up. It was great. I was a little off. I made a lot of errors, but came through. I’m just having a lot of fun.”