Serena Williams announced Wednesday that she will compete in this year’s U.S. Open tennis tournament.
Williams has won six of her 23 Grand Slam championships at the U.S. Open, which will be held this year from Aug. 31-Sept. 13. The tournament is slated to be the first tennis major to be played since the coronavirus pandemic suspended the sport in March.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday that he was signing off on staging the U.S. Open in August without fans amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I really cannot wait to return in New York and play the U.S. Open 2020,” Williams said in a taped video message revealed by the United States Tennis Association.
“I feel like the USTA is going to do a really good job of ensuring everything is amazing and everything is perfect and everyone is safe. It’s going to be exciting. It’s been over six months since a lot of us have played professional tennis.
“I’ll certainly miss the fans, don’t get me wrong, just being out there and that New York crowd and hearing everyone cheer. I’ll really miss that getting me through some of those tough matches. This is crazy. I’m excited.”
Should she emerge victorious at the U.S. Open, Williams, 38, will tie Margaret Court for the most Grand Slam titles ever.
Ranked ninth in the world, Williams last competed in the Australian Open in January, where she lost to Qiang Wang of China in the third round in a three-set match.
–Field Level Media (@FieldLevelMedia)
