By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, July 13, 2017
"I plan on coming back. I plan on playing. But at the same time, this is a whole new chapter in my life. So I’ll see how that is,” Serena Williams said.
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve
Seventh months into her pregnancy, Serena Williams is spending time working out, watching Wimbledon and savoring sleep.
One topic that isn’t causing Serena sleepless nights: coaching.
Watch: Who's Hot, Who's Not At Wimbledon
Asked her view on the US Open qualifying tournament’s plan to allow coaching from the stands, Serena told Tennis Now “I’ve never been a fan.”
The 35-year-old Williams does not use on-court coaching preferring to problem-solve on her own and doesn’t support expanding coaching to the stands either.
“As for the US Open (coaching trial), this is the first I’m hearing about it,” Williams told Tennis Now during a conference call to promote her partnership with Tempur-Pedic. “I’ve never been a fan of on-court coaching. But hey maybe times are changing, I don’t know. I’m not for it.”
Seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer has also opposed expanding the coaching rule, which he says will remove a cool quality from tennis.
“I mean, I'm not all for it,” Federer said at Wimbledon. “I find it kind of cool that in tennis you're sort of on your own out there. Not everybody has the same amount of resources for coaching, as well. So I'm not sure if it's that beneficial."
The 23-time Grand Slam champion says one stat profoundly altered her perception on the power of revitalizing rest.
“Recently, I’ve learned sleep is incredibly important: Once you reach 80, you’ll have spent over 10 years in bed sleeping,” Williams said. “So for me, that’s an incredible stat. You want that to be a really high-quality sleep so that you can make the best out of it, you know?”
The reigning Australian Open champion stars in two ads—“Sleep is Power” and “Pyramid Test”— touting the soothing sleep she’s gained from a decade as a devoted Termpur-Pedic user.
The “Power” campaign is supported by the brand’s record levels of advertising throughout the high-demand summer selling season, which means you’ll be seeing plenty of Serena praising the positive power of deep rest.
“Sleep deprivation is real—especially for athletes,” Williams told Tennis Now. “You travel, you do this stuff and you are expected to compete at a high level.
"And how can you do that if you’re not getting your rest and sleep that you need? For athletes, it’s super, super important to have the best quality sleep that you can afford.”
Rest and recovery becomes even more crucial after Williams gives birth to her first child later this summer before embarking on what will be the most highly-scrutinized comeback of her career.
Initially, the former world No. 1 was targeting a summer, 2018 return. Williams’ coach, ESPN analyst Patrick Mouratoglou, has said Serena may well try to launch her comeback in January and try to defend her Australian Open crown.
In her conference call, Serena said she's fully committed to a comeback but didn’t cite a targeted return date.
“Obviously, ideally I would love to come back,” Williams said. “I plan on coming back. I plan on playing. But at the same time, this is a whole new chapter in my life. So I’ll see how that is.”
Serena conducted the call the night before older sister Venus Williams powered past sixth-seeded Briton Johanna Konta into the Wimbledon final for the first time since 2009.
The 37-year-old Venus, who said she missed her younger sister "so much before this match", is through to her second Grand Slam final of the season.
Serena said she's watching Wimbledon and was riveted by Venus’ run and Gilles Muller’s fourth-round upset of Rafael Nadal.
“I have watched a lot,” Serena told Tennis Now. “I think obviously the Rafa match is one that really stuck out for a lot of people because it was so entertaining and Rafa’s been doing so well so that one (stuck out). I mean, outside of all of Venus’ matches, that one really stuck out…
“Venus and Roger are obviously doing great and I think that will continue and go into next year as well.”