Serena Williams teased a Wimbledon comeback the same day her longtime coach announced he's working full-time with a new player
- Serena Williams teased a comeback on Instagram, saying she is preparing for Wimbledon.
- Williams has not played since Wimbledon in 2021, when she exited with a leg injury.
Serena Williams teased her comeback to professional tennis might come at the All England Club this year.
Williams has not played since Wimbledon in 2021 and has not given indications of when she'll play again.
But on Thursday, while attending a Bitcoin conference, Williams posted a video to Instagram alongside Aaron Rodgers, saying, "We've been talking about my comeback.
"He's been hyping me up and getting me ready for Wimbledon."
When Rodgers said, "What about the US Open?" Williams laughed and said, "Wimbledon's before the US Open! I gotta play Wimbledon first."
Williams' tease comes on the same day that her longtime coach Patrick Mouratoglou announced over social media that he is now working full-time with world No. 20 Simona Halep. Williams has worked with Mouratoglou since 2012.
Mouratoglou wrote that Halep had approached him about coaching her earlier this year, but at the time it was "out of the question." He wrote that he later spoke to Williams, who seemingly approved, writing, "A few weeks later I had a conversation with Serena, and the door opened for me, at least short term, to work with someone else."
Williams dropped out of Wimbledon in the first round last year with a leg injury.
In November, she appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and said she was preparing to play in the Australian Open in 2022, saying her injury was "better."
However, Williams then told the Australian Open that she would not compete, per her team's advice.
"While this is never an easy decision to make, I am not where I need to be physically to compete," Williams told the Australian Open website. "Melbourne is one of my favorite cities to visit, and I look forward to playing at the AO every year. I will miss seeing the fans, but am excited to return and compete at my highest level."
Williams lost to Naomi Osaka in the 2021 Australian Open final and later became emotional talking about retirement.
"If I ever say farewell, I wouldn't tell anyone," Williams said in her press conference before abruptly ending it in tears.
Williams is currently ranked 246th in the WTA.