Serena Williams Enters Toronto Tournament Amid Retirement Speculation

The 23-time Grand Slam winner just came off a stint at Wimbledon after not playing for a year.

Serena Williams is officially on the player entry list for the National Bank Open in Toronto taking place at the beginning of August.

She’s baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

That’s right, our 3-time champion @serenawilliams returns to Toronto. And she likes playing here, she’s reached the semis of better the last five times she’s played. #NBO22 pic.twitter.com/3OzZsEnBIP

— National Bank Open (@NBOtoronto) July 14, 2022

The 23-time Grand Slam champion made her tennis return at the end of June after not playing since last year’s Wimbledon by playing doubles in the Eastbourne tournament ahead of Wimbledon. She then played singles at Wimbledon, losing in the first round to France’s Harmony Tan in a close three-set match.

After her stint at Wimbledon, Williams didn’t give a clear answer about her future in tennis, which sparked speculation about whether she would retire. Fans wondered if she would try to play at this year’s U.S. Open, a major tournament Williams has won six times.

The National Bank Open is seen as one of the warm-up hard surface tournaments ahead of the final major event of the year. The 40-year-old has previously won the Toronto tournament three times. She last made the final in 2019. 

Williams hasn’t officially announced whether she is playing at the U.S. Open, but it looks like she’s attempting to continue her comeback at the Grand Slam. She is using her protected ranking to enter the Toronto tournament.

After Wimbledon, Williams did admit that she wanted to hit the practice courts and work on her game before making a decision about any tournaments.

The tennis legend last played the U.S. Open in 2020, making the semifinals. The previous two years she reached the finals. She won the tournament in three consecutive years: 2012–14.

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