Serena Williams appears to have brought Rennae Stubbs into her squad for the final tournament of her career. This week, Williams has been seen accompanied by the six-time Grand Slam champion Stubbs. On Tuesday, Williams practiced with Maria Sakkari. During practice, reporters noted that Williams was accompanied by Stubbs, a former A-list player in doubles competition. Williams, 40, is preparing for the final tournament of her career at the US Open. Williams was out for 12 months before announcing that she would return to action at Wimbledon. Upon hearing the news from Williams, Stubbs lost her mind as she became emotional to see the 23-time Grand Slam champion back in action. “I’m SO happy to hear that Serena Williams is coming back!!! I never want to see a great champion limp off a court in tears and never come back!!!! Come on SW!!!! #comeback,” Stubbs wrote on Twitter after Williams announced that she would compete at Wimbledon. Two weeks ago – in an article published for Vogue * – Williams revealed her plans to retire from professional tennis at the US Open. In the article, Williams refused to use the term “retirement” and instead said he is “evolving away from tennis.” After reading Williams’ retirement message, Stubbs felt it was a “real” and “honest” message from the champion of 23 Grand Slams. “This is as real, honest and beautiful an article as I have ever read. I love you for always being you, thank you for everything Serena Williams. Farewell to tennis, in her own words,” Stubbs wrote on Twitter.
John McEnroe on Serena Williams
John McEnroe expected the partisan home crowd to play a big role in how Serena Williams performs at the US Open, which begins on August 29. “Could be first round, or she could actually make a run. Depends on the crowd. Sometimes when you’re not playing well you sort of feel like the crowd doesn’t get you’re struggling. It depends on how she reacts to that if things aren’t going well or the way she anticipates,” McEnroe told New York Post. While it also depends on who her opponents will be, the seven-time Slam champion stated that her age might also come into play. “It obviously depends on who she’s playing. Anything could happen. It’s so wide open. At the moment, obviously we know she can hit shots but it’s going to be how well can she play some defense, recover and move. That’s the part that gets tougher as you get older,” he added.