Serena Williams explains tennis absence after Wimbledon comeback comments

Serena Williams has admitted she is "playing for herself" and prioritising her daughter after spending nine months away from the tennis court. The 23-time Grand Slam champion got injured in her Wimbledon first-round last year and has not played since, with her coach now taking on a new charge in Simona Halep amid her absence. Williams recently hinted she would finally be returning at the site of her last match, Wimbledon.

Williams recently silenced speculation that she would never return to tennis again after her coach of ten years Patrick Mouratoglou announced he would be working with former world No 1 Simona Halep in the short-term. The 40-year-old recently shared an Instagram story with NFL star Aaron Rodgers saying: "We've been talking about my comeback and he's been hyping me up and getting me ready for Wimbledon. Can't wait!"

The 23-time Major champion has not competed in almost a year, when she was forced to retire at 3-3 in her opening match at Wimbledon last summer after slipping and injuring herself on the Centre Court grass - an injury that also kept her out of the US Open and Australian Open. But Williams has now explained her absence from recent tennis events as she admitted she was enjoying the current stage of her career where she could pick and choose tournaments to suit her lifestyle.

"This chapter makes me happy because for so many years I've played, and I've loved doing it, but now I'm playing just for me," she told Insider. "I compete when and where I want to go, but I don't have to go. So I'm enjoying it in a different way."

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Williams, who has fallen to No 243 as a result of her prolonged injury layoff, also said motherhood was