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Serena expected to skip Wimbledon warm-up tournament

 

It is unlikely to see Serena Williams compete in any grass-court tournaments before Wimbledon, according to her coach Patrick Mouratoglou.

Serena expected to skip Wimbledon

The 23-time Grand Slam champion has played only a handful of matches this year and she admitted after her third-round defeat to Sofia Kenin at the French Open that she is “super short on matches”.

The 37-year-old, who has struggled with a knee injury this year, also revealed that she could accept a wildcard to play a warm-up event before Wimbledon starts on July 1

“I have some time on my hands so maybe I’ll jump in and get a wildcard at one of these grass-court events and see what happens,” she said.

However, her coach Mouratoglou says it is unlikely that she will play any warm-up events before the third Grand Slam of the year at SW19.

“I don’t know yet, I don’t think so, because first the goal is for her to be injury-free and pain-free and then we need to work hard, so if she can play, great (but) I don’t know if she can play,” Mouratoglou said.

However, five-times Wimbledon champion Venus Williams will play in the Birmingham grasscourt event later this month after accepting a wildcard.

The American, 38, has never played in the competition before but will join French Open champion Ashleigh Barty and world number one Naomi Osaka in the draw as the build-up to Wimbledon continues.

“I’m really excited to be playing in Birmingham for the first time. I always love playing on grass in front of British crowds and have heard wonderful things about the tournament,” the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion said.

Read Also: I need to play more matches–match rusty Serena admits

Czech Petra Kvitova, a double Wimbledon champion, is also playing. Spain’s former Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza has withdrawn because of a left leg injury. The tournament runs from June 15-22.

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