Sports

Serena Williams Grateful for Delayed Aus Open: "Wouldn't Be Here"

Tuesday, February 02, 2021 at 1:29 PM by Reeshni Chetty

- Serena Williams has made a return to tennis following an Achilles injury late last year

- Williams was out of play for four months but made her return at the Yarra Valley Classic on Monday

- Williams is grateful that the Australian Open is delayed by three weeks as she is able to practice and train

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Tennis star Serena Williams is back in the game. The 39-year-old admitted that she would not have made it to the Australian Open if it was not delayed by three weeks. Williams had suffered in Achilles tendon injury in late 2020

Williams managed to mark her place after defeating Australia's Daria Gavrilova 6-1 6-4 on Monday at the Yarra Valley Classic. The 23-time grand slam champion was out for four months following her injury, making the Aus Open her first tour match in a while.

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Williams noted that the rescheduling of the Aus Open from 19 January to 8 February helped her as she was unable to practice due to her injury.

Wouldn't be here: Serena Williams steals hearts at Aus Open — Tennis superstar Serena Williams is back in the game as the Australian Open kicks off and could not be more grateful for the delayed start. Image: Martin Bureau / AFP and Anthony Dibon / Icon Sport
Source: Getty Images

Yahoo reported that Serena said she "wouldn't be here" had the tour started during the regular season. SkySports reported that players were required to spend time in quarantine upon arrival in Australia which pushed back the Grand Slam.

Williams is set to face Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova at the Margaret Court Arena on Wednesday.

Briefly.co.za previously reported on Williams after she withdrew from the French Open. This came after the 39-year-old suffered an Achilles tendon injury at the US Open semi-final against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.

The mother-of-one said she was "struggling to walk" and that she needs four to six weeks to recover from the injury. Williams has had a past of health scares with a pulmonary embolism causing a clot in her lung back in 2011.