Former seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe says Serena Williams is “up there” with Michael Jordan and other sporting icons in the United States. Williams, 40, is a 23-time Grand Slam champion but she doesn’t own the all-time Grand Slam record.
Williams, who hasn’t had a Grand Slam triumph since the 2017 Australian Open, is set to compete at Wimbledon after missing out on the last three Grand Slam events. “Serena’s obviously been trying to get that one to tie Margaret Court and win that first one since she had a kid.
But she seems to have become, I believe it’s all around the world, but certainly in America, she’s up there with like Michael Jordan and the all time great athletes icons,” McEnroe said, per Tennis365. “I haven’t seen her – no one has seen anyone really, and so now we’re finally getting to Wimbledon.
Last year the fans were like, this is amazing. And then to see what happened last year, you hate to see someone like Serena go out like that”.
Williams will first play in Eastbourne
On Tuesday, Williams revealed her plans to compete in the Eastbourne doubles event.
As her partner for the Eastbourne doubles event, Williams picked recent Madrid champion Ons Jabeur. “I am excited to return to the Rothesay International tournament in England and to be back on the grass – a surface that has been so good to me throughout my career.
Eastbourne has a unique charm that you don’t see anywhere else on Tour and I’m looking forward to playing in front of the fans again,” Williams said in a statement. Williams hasn’t played since retiring injured her Wimbledon first round match last year.
Even though Williams hasn’t played in a very long time, many think that the American can never be underestimated at Wimbledon. It remains to be seen how far can Williams go at Wimbledon.
