Serena Williams happily ‘out of office’ as she targets more Wimbledon glory

Serena Williams joked she has put her ‘out of office’ on as she takes a break from her hectic off-court life to tread the lawns of Wimbledon once again.

Suspicions had been growing that the 23-time grand slam singles champion had effectively retired having not been seen on a tennis court since withdrawing in tears during her first-round match at the All England Club 12 months ago with a hamstring injury.

Williams’ prolific Instagram account has instead been full of her business ventures and showbiz lifestyle, with promotion of ‘King Richard’, the Oscar-winning film about her childhood, as well as her role as mother to four-year-old Olympia.

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“A part of me feels like that is a little bit more of my life now than tournaments,” she said.

“When you do have a venture company, you do have to go all-in. It definitely takes literally all my extra time. And it’s fun. I’m currently out of office for the next few weeks so, if you email me, you’ll get the nice ‘out of office’ reply.

“Everyone knows that I’ll be back in a few weeks. But it’s good. I absolutely love what I do. I love investing in companies.

“And then the Oscars was really fun, just the whole tour of that whole moment was incredible to be a part of such an amazing movie. It was something that you don’t think about. At best you think of winning grand slams, not being nominated for an Oscar for a film that you produce.”

Williams revealed her decision to play at Wimbledon was made before the French Open, with her first matches of the year coming in doubles in Eastbourne earlier this week with Ons Jabeur.

Of her break from the sport, she said: “I didn’t retire. I just needed to heal physically, mentally. I had no plans, to