A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Serena Williams, the winner of 23 Grand Slam singles tennis titles, is returning to the court. The 44-year-old accepted an invitation to play doubles with Canadian Vicki Mboko at next week's HSBC Championship in London. It'll be her first match since the U.S. Open in 2022. Ben Rothenberg, host of the "No Challenges Remaining" podcast, is here. Ben, I have seen her post videos of her crashing random tennis games in parks, in public parks, freaking everyone out. Any indications that this was about to happen?
BEN ROTHENBERG: The indication we had came last year when Serena quietly re-entered the anti-doping testing pool, which she had removed herself from, I think, only one day after playing her final match of that 2022 U.S. Open. Players regularly do that. It's a hassle and a pain to have to give your whereabouts every day so a tester can knock on your door at any hour and demand a sample. That's part of, you know, keeping the sport clean and something that Serena would have gone through for many years. And then she reentered this program, reapplied and got herself reinstated after completing six months in this program, starting last August and finishing her sixth months in February. There's no reason to do that without designs on coming back to...
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
ROTHENBERG: ...Professional competitive tennis. So that was the clearest sign, even if she had not given any real, clear confirmations or explanations about what she was doing back in that testing program.
MARTÍNEZ: So no hint at all at her motivations for returning now? I mean, nothing at all?
ROTHENBERG: We really don't know. No. She hasn't done that many interviews. She did a "Today" show interview with Savannah Guthrie to promote her weight loss drug ad during the Super Bowl, and Guthrie asked her about it, and she was evasive and sort of laughing and saying - just being noncommittal. But clearly, something was up, and, you know, Serena, I think, enjoys having a bit of mystery about herself, enjoys the intrigue, enjoys the whispers. And so we'll finally get to see. She'll finally be facing interviews and press when she plays next week in London, if not before then. And we'll finally get some answers. So we don't really know what her expectations are, what - how she's going to define success for this latest chapter of her career, how hungry she is for an elusive, you know, 24th Grand Slam singles title, or if she just wants to go out there and have some fun and play, you know, in front of her two daughters or something.
MARTÍNEZ: Well, yeah, that's what I was about to ask, then, because, yeah, I mean, why not - if you're going to play, play for titles, right? I mean, could a return to Wimbledon be coming up at the end of the month?
ROTHENBERG: Absolutely. Now, this decision to play her first tournament back on a grass court in London definitely seems like a precursor to Wimbledon. It'd be pretty shocking if Wimbledon wasn't in her plans. And I also know from my own reporting that she's also been in conversations already with the U.S. Tennis Association, which runs the U.S. Open. So I would expect that she has a relatively full summer dance card of tennis lined up across the English grass and then the American hard courts as well.
MARTÍNEZ: The thing is, Ben, you cover sports and athletes. I used to do that, too. Age is undefeated. She's going to be 44 - or she is 44. I mean, how - what do we expect to see when she actually gets on the court?
ROTHENBERG: Yeah, it's really tough to know. There's really no track record of success at this sort of level of singles play, certainly, for a tennis player in her mid-40s. You know, her sister came back last year, who's one year older, 45 - Venus - and she came back and won her first match in Washington, which is a big deal. And then I think she lost her next nine or 10 matches in a row. This is - you know, it's very hard to do this. And it just seems like it's something that, you know, again, this will be about setting expectations for Serena. Does she want to just go out there and have fun, or is she really having her eyes on the prize? Knowing Serena Williams and her competitiveness, I'm sure she has some designs or dreams or delusions, some might say...
MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter).
ROTHENBERG: ...That she can still be the best in the world. But also, that kind of confidence is what made her great for so long, for better and for worse.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. And I guess, even just having her for one tournament, even if it's just one, is worth it, right? I mean, it's her. It's the GOAT.
ROTHENBERG: It'll be fun.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
ROTHENBERG: Yeah, it should be a fun time.
MARTÍNEZ: Ben Rothenberg, host of "No Challenges Remaining" podcast. Ben, thanks a lot.
ROTHENBERG: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
