Serena Williams wasn’t ready then, but she will be now.

Williams’ coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, told WTATennis.com that the former No. 1 came back too soon to the sport after giving birth to her daughter, Alexis, in September. The birth included complications with blood clots.

Williams returned in March, losing two of her four matches, one to Venus Williams and the other to Naomi Osaka.

“Serena clearly came back too early,” Mouratoglou said. “She was not ready yet but needed to feel the competition, so she decided to play even though she was far from being at 100 percent. It was a good experience as she realized all the work that needed to be done in order for her to be really ready.”

Williams has not returned to the court since, recently withdrawing from the Italian Open that began Monday and is the warmup for the French Open. But Mouratoglou said that Williams would assuredly be ready for the red clay of Roland Garros, which starts in a week and is the second major of the season.

Among Williams’ Open-era record of 23 grand slams is three titles at the French Open, with her most recently winning the title in 2015.

“Serena will play the French Open to win it,” Mouratoglou said. “Can she do it? Serena can achieve anything. After being her coach for six years, I’m even more sure of that statement.”

Mouratoglou said that Williams has been working out at his tennis academy in France since the end of April in order to get ready for the French Open.

“After her pregnancy, Serena had to rebuild her body. When she arrived at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy, around April 30, we realized that she was not ready yet. The time she lost after the delivery, with all the medical issues she had to go through, was missing,” Mouratoglou said.

“That is the reason why we decided to skip Madrid and Rome as she needed five weeks to be perfectly ready. Then we worked with my team in order to prepare a program for her to get back in her best shape including nutrition, fitness and, of course, tennis. So far, things are going very well. She is working extremely hard, she is improving in all the areas fast. I am very satisfied and confident that she will be ready for Roland Garros.”

By Justin Terranova

Source: nypost.com