Serena Williams claimed her first singles victory in 14 months on Monday as she beat Nuria Parrizas Diaz to reach the second round of the National Bank Open in Toronto.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner showed glimpses of her past with some of her strikes of the ball in a 6-3 6-4 victory over the Spaniard. The last time she won a singles match was back in the 2021 French Open, before being sidelined for a year through injury. She made her return to court at Wimbledon in June.
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Williams will now face either Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic or Tereza Martincova in the next round. Despite a lot of speculation about her potentially retiring, Williams feels determined to continue. She said: “I guess there’s just a light at the end of the tunnel.
“Lately that’s been it for me. I can’t wait to get to that light. I love playing, so it’s amazing but, you know, I can’t do this forever. Sometimes you just want to try your best to enjoy the moments and do the best you can.”
The 40-year-old was given a warm and loud reception in Toronto, a place where has been crowned champion three times in what was her first appearance on hard court since the 2021 Australian Open.
While she engaged in some nice rallies with her opponent early on, it was clear that she was struggling at times with her serves and movement, but she was able to more than make up for it with some clever defensive work at key points in the match.
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change
