EASTBOURNE, England (AP) — Serena Williams says nearly a year away from tennis hasn’t diminished her competitive spirit.
The 13-time Grand Slam champion returns to action Tuesday at the Eastbourne International after recovering from an injured tendon in her foot, which led to a blood clot in her lung.
Williams says doctors warned her the blood clot could have ended her career. That taught the 29-year-old about “not taking things for granted.”
But she says her attitude hasn’t changed and that she still has “that insatiable, innate thing inside of me that I want everything; I just want to win.”
Williams opens against Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria as she warms up for the defense of her Wimbledon title.
