Resurrection Game: Can Serena and Djokovic turn back the clock?

If you’re on the lookout for essentially the most full CVs in world tennis, you shouldn’t be going past Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic.

Serena has 23 singles Majors – an Open Period file – and 14 in doubles. She has gained each Slam at the least thrice in singles and twice in doubles.

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The American has clinched the Olympics singles gold as soon as (London 2012), the doubles gold thrice (Sydney 2000, Beijing 2008 and London 2012), and the erstwhile Fed Cup (now Billie Jean King Cup) in 1999. Since 1990, no participant has gained extra singles titles on the WTA Tour than Serena’s 73.

Djokovic has an all-time males’s file 24 singles Majors, secured each Slam at the least thrice, and bagged all 9 Masters 1000s and ATP Finals at the least twice. He gained the Davis Cup for Serbia in 2010, and when he pocketed the Olympics singles gold at Paris 2024, following a sensational victory over Carlos Alcaraz, it stuffed the final current hole.

It’s pure for everybody to anticipate that the 2 legends will now be resting on their unbelievable laurels, vacationing year-round, soaking within the sunshine, swimming the ocean, and taking lengthy and calming strolls with their companions and kids in tow.

Again to the grind

However from Monday at Wimbledon, Serena and Djokovic might be seen hitting tennis balls once more, not for enjoyable however in all seriousness as full-blooded professionals. The previous is closing in on 45, and is a mom of two, with the second little one but to show three. The latter has simply stepped into the fortieth yr of his life and can also be a father of two.

Chiselling it: Over time, Djokovic has developed a effective grass-court sport, along with his spot-serving standing out
| Photograph Credit score:
AFP

But, right here they’re, sparring with gamers a decade or two youthful, and trying to shoe-horn one other high-impact bullet level into their already distinctive resumes.

Serena, a seven-time winner and four-time runner-up at Wimbledon, is making a comeback to aggressive singles for the primary time since US Open 2022 whereas Djokovic, a seven-time winner and three-time finalist at SW19, might be on his twenty first successive go to to the All England Membership.

What’s their motivation? Serena, in her personal phrases, has stated that it is a chance to point out her two daughters what it takes to carry out on the most important stage. She has additionally been impressed by her sister Venus, 46, who made the doubles quarterfinal on the 2025 US Open. In truth, Serena and Venus may also be enjoying doubles at Wimbledon, having been granted a wild card.

“I had nothing higher to do,” Serena stated on the Queen’s Membership in London just lately, eliciting nice laughter from the group which watched her pair up with Canada’s Victoria Mboko and win a spherical. “I bought uninterested in sitting at residence. My children are out of faculty for the summer season, so why not?

“I don’t have to win. I’ve gained greater than most individuals have of their complete lives. I don’t have something to lose. The whole lot is a acquire,” she noticed.

For Djokovic, it’s the “thrill of competitors”. On the Australian Open earlier this yr, he beat the then World No. 2 Jannik Sinner over 5 units within the semifinal, and pushed No. 1 Alcaraz laborious within the remaining earlier than succumbing in 4 units. A month later at Indian Wells, he acknowledged that he would maintain going so long as he has the “aptitude and high quality, and the motivation”.

“I nonetheless take pleasure in getting on the market in entrance of the followers and being aggressive,” Djokovic stated. “I’ve confirmed to myself primarily, and to others, that I can nonetheless compete on the highest degree. I nonetheless have that edge, and I’ll carry on going so long as I really feel prefer it.”

Serena definitely seems to be leaner and fitter than when she final performed on the Tour, because of the effectiveness of new-age weight-loss medication. After her second being pregnant, she couldn’t “beat the burden” and turned in the direction of GLP-1 remedy.

Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 (GLP-1) is a naturally occurring hormone that nudges the pancreas to launch insulin, decelerate digestion and scale back starvation. Semaglutides and Tirzepatides carry out this operate when ingested within the type of medicines, lowering meals consumption and resulting in vital weight reduction.

These two medication have been on the World Anti-Doping Company (WADA) monitoring programme since 2024 and there’s a raging debate whether or not they are often bracketed as performance-enhancers. How Serena advantages will additional this dialogue.

However this is just one a part of the story. Enjoying tennis is a part of Serena’s muscle reminiscence and that side isn’t going away. At her peak, she had essentially the most devastating serve on Tour, and even a watered-down model will give her the first-mover benefit on a slick and quick floor like grass.

Ace up the sleeve: Serena has typically had the first-mover benefit on the quick lawns of SW19, courtesy a sport that flows from her massive serve
| Photograph Credit score:
AFP

There’s additionally her on-court aura, the overarching nature of which might make opponents shrink. Solely a handful have risen to the problem, like Naomi Osaka and Bianca Andreescu did after they beat Serena of their maiden Main finals on the 2018 and 2019 US Opens respectively.

“I see her within the health club greater than I’ve seen her when she ⁠was at her prime,” Djokovic stated final week at Wimbledon. “It’s admirable, ⁠truthfully, the trouble she’s placing in. For her to return again after years of being absent, two youngsters later, and to offer a lot effort not only for her personal satisfaction however to additionally give all of us the ‌pleasure of seeing her is outstanding.”

Nevertheless, there are challenges galore. The same comeback in singles was as soon as tried by Martina Navratilova in 2002 when she was almost 46. That lasted solely 10 matches over three years, and featured simply three wins. Navratilova did go on to have an exquisite second wind in doubles, however Serena has stated that something aside from singles is “not my journey proper now”.

Missing the sting

Having not skilled a aggressive surroundings for almost 4 years, Serena is certain to be rusty. Even earlier than that, she was in a state of semi-retirement, enjoying simply eight singles matches from Wimbledon 2021 and tasting defeat in 5.

Current-day singles can also be extra highly effective and explosive than at every other time. A actuality test might properly await Serena, who as soon as dominated the Tour along with her athleticism and superior heft of stroke.

Unseeded and unranked as she is, the early rounds won’t be straightforward. Towards World No. 87 Maya Joint, Serena might have a softer-than-expected opening, however she is drawn to fulfill the fast-rising 21-year-old from Philippines Alexandra Eala, the big-serving Czech and 2021 finalist Karolina Pliskova, and defending champion Iga Swiatek within the subsequent rounds.

In distinction, Djokovic, by advantage of nonetheless being within the top-10, has the rating safety to ease in. Sadly, the seventh seed has additionally been handled a banana pores and skin of a draw.

After China’s Wu Yibing (No. 102), the Serb can doubtlessly meet Stefanos Tsitsipas, a two-time Slam finalist and former World No. 3 however now right down to 87, Joao Fonseca, who beat him within the third spherical at French Open and is now No. 27, and twelfth seed Andrey Rublev within the second, third and fourth rounds respectively.

For the reason that run to the ultimate in Melbourne, Djokovic has finished valuable little, enjoying simply seven matches and dropping three. After successful the ATP Finals in November 2023, which got here two months after he secured the final of his 24 Majors, he has simply two Tour titles – ATP 250s in Geneva and Athens, each final yr. 

In equity, Djokovic’s battle has not been in beating mid-level gamers however the elite ones in Sinner and Alcaraz. As they’re nearly all the time ranked within the top-two, each participant who goals of a Slam invariably has to beat each.

Previous to the success over Sinner on the Australian Open, Djokovic had misplaced 5 straight occasions to the Italian, with three of these at Majors. Towards Alcaraz, he has misplaced 4 of his final 5 Slam contests, with three of them coming in finals.

Whereas there’s little doubt that the duo has elevated the standard of tennis, the physicality within the sport has gone by means of the roof. A lot in order that Djokovic, who as soon as raised health requirements to such ranges that it triggered huge shifts in the best way Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal ready, is now struggling to maintain up. It doesn’t assist that Sinner and Alcaraz are almost 15 years youthful.

Enjoying catch-up

“It’s simply age, the wear and tear and tear of the physique,” Djokovic stated after dropping to Sinner within the semifinal at Wimbledon 2025. “As a lot as I’m taking good care of it, actuality hits me. It’s robust for me to simply accept that as a result of I really feel that once I’m contemporary and match, I can nonetheless play actually good tennis. I’ve proved that.

“However enjoying best-of-five [sets] has been an actual battle bodily. The longer the match goes, the more severe the situation will get. These guys are match, younger and sharp. I really feel like I’m going into the match with a tank half-empty. It’s simply not doable to win a match like that.

“Nevertheless it’s one among this stuff I settle for and embrace, cope with the fact the best way it’s, and attempt to take advantage of out of it.”

Wimbledon 2026 will give Djokovic the very best alternative to do that. In Alcaraz’s absence, he has only one massive fear in Sinner. Alexander Zverev is the second seed, however the reigning French Open champion has a historical past of stumbling on grass and by no means gone previous the fourth spherical at The Championships.

Although Djokovic’s greatest floor was laborious for lengthy, the luxurious inexperienced lawns of south-west London have been immensely hospitable. Over time, he has mastered the artwork of shifting on the slippery turf, improved his volleying to a major diploma, and spot-serves like the very best within the enterprise.

Outstanding file

In his final seven visits to Wimbledon, he has earned 4 titles, made two appearances within the remaining and one within the semifinal. The sprint to the 2024 summit conflict, particularly, was astounding, as a result of it hadn’t even been six weeks since Djokovic had gone beneath a surgeon’s scalpel to fix a torn meniscus in his proper knee.

“I feel I’m higher ready than I used to be for Roland-Garros,” Djokovic stated trying forward. “Clearly, enjoying on grass, in comparison with clay, you don’t have to exert as a lot bodily effort. And I all the time cherished enjoying on grass. I’ve an excellent historical past at Wimbledon.

“Roland-Garros was bodily very draining, demanding, however the effort was there. Anyway, I used to be planning to peak at Wimbledon after the shoulder damage stored me away from the Tour. I knew that going straight into Roland-Garros was going to be fairly troublesome… possibly too massive a problem for me, and that’s what occurred.

“However I knew that’s going to offer me a bit extra time to arrange for Wimbledon. So, hopefully, I’ll have a great match right here.”

With a mixed 47 Grand Slam singles trophies, Serena and Djokovic are tennis royalty. Can they be at their regal greatest on the crown jewel of the game?