Serena Williams: Casper Ruud hails American's 'true love' for tennis ahead of her Wimbledon comeback
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Updated 27/06/2022 at 10:48 GMT
Serena Williams' comeback to tennis at the age of 40 after a year out shows her "true love" for tennis, men's world No. 5 Casper Ruud has said on his Eurosport show. Norwegian Ruud, who gets his Wimbledon 2022 underway on Monday against Albert Ramos-Vinolas, says Williams "brings a lot" to the game. Williams plays her first-round match on Tuesday against France's Harmony Tan.
'I didn't retire, I just needed to heal' - Serena on SW19 return
Casper Ruud says Serena Williams' comeback to tennis shows her "true love for the sport".
Williams hasn't played since last year's Wimbledon, when she tore her hamstring during her first-round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
Some questioned whether - at 40 years old and with business and family interests - she had quietly retired from the game, but she quashed those rumours this week as she arrived back at SW19.
For men's world No. 5 Ruud, he is one of many delighted at Williams' decision to carry on.
"It's impressive," Ruud told Eurosport's Barbara Schett and Alex Correjta on 'Ruud Talk'.
"That's one word I can say to describe it because she has won everything there is to win. And she still wants to keep going.
"It shows that she has true love for the sport and that she wants to compete again, that she's missing that feeling, I guess.
"Obviously she's been through many challenging moments, especially last year having to retire. I was watching that match live from the hotel when we were in the Covid-19 bubble.
"She brings a lot to the game and a lot of fans. Players look up to her a lot as she deserves.
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TOPSHOT - US player Serena Williams reacts as she pulls-up injured before withdrawing from her women's singles first round match against Belarus's Aliaksandra Sasnovich on the second day of the 2021 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Tennis Club i
Image credit: Eurosport
"So it's going to be fun to see her back and I think Centre Court will probably be sold out when she enters the court again."
Corretja added: "I would love to see her win one more major. It would be unbelievable if she can just have another chance to do it.
"I'm not saying that she needs to win this one [Wimbledon] - because she needs to go with her flow and see how she feels - but I would love to see her play at least this year and next year to see if she has the chance to get one more under her belt."
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Watch daily highlights from Wimbledon at 10pm on Eurosport 2 and discovery+ from June 27, as well as the two singles finals live on July 9 and 10.
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