Venus Speaks on Serena Williams' Return: "Quality of Her Stroke is Obviously There"
The NBA Championship games may be about to kick off, the French Open may be in full swing, and professional hockey may be looking to see who wins the Stanley Cup, but Serena Williams' announcement of her return to tennis has been headline-grabbing news over the last week (although Williams herself only confirmed the news on June 1). Countless tennis fans around the world are talking about the exciting return, and you can add Venus Williams to that number.
You may remember that back in 2022, Serena stated in a Vogue essay that she would essentially be taking a break from tennis. In fact, she wrote, "I'm here to tell you that I'm evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me." While she was cautious not to use the word retirement, many felt that's what was happening, especially since she didn't play professionally since then.
Fast forward to 2026, and the GOAT is slated to play in the HSBC Championships at Queen's Club in London, England. She'll be playing alongside Victoria Mboko in the Women's Doubles event.
With all that being said, and going back to Venus, she recently sat with TNT Sports and shared her thoughts on her sister's return, including what she knows about Serena's form.
Venus Williams: "I Think that She Hits Every Now and Then"
During an interview with TNT Sports that aired on June 2, Venus was asked if there was a moment "six months ago, eight months ago" where Serena came to her and discussed returning to the WTA tour? Additionally, Venus was prompted to give her reaction to that conversation if it happened. Well, Venus replied:
"It didn't happen like that. [Laughing] I think it was more of me bullying her to come. No. Not at all. Not at all. I think that she hits every now and then. I never see her on the court that often. So I don't know when she's been practicing honestly. I'm honest. I don't know how her form is. But what I will tell you is that she (cannot hit) for like four months, and I'll be hitting, and she'll come out and grab a racket and running shoes, and just hits a ton out of the ball…It's incredible."
Venus Williams: "She's Very Tenacious So I'm Not Worried…"
Venus continued on in the segment, still very complimentary of her sister, while a bit coy (understandably so). Venus furthermore expressed:
"So the quality of her stroke is obviously there. She's, I think, a little bit of a natural. [Laughing] She has a pretty good record, she knows what she's doing. She's very tenacious, so I'm not worried about how she's going to play. Even though, I really haven't seen her play. It's so crazy."
You can check out the brief segment from TNT Sports below. And let's all hope that Williams not only proves to the world that she's still got it at age 44, but that her return to doubles is in fact a precursor to a singles bid at Wimbledon.
.@Venuseswilliams on @serenawilliams's return to tennis: "The quality of her stroke is obviously there; she's, I think, a little bit of a natural... she's very tenacious. So, I'm not worried about how she's going to play." pic.twitter.com/BIuiZp2DBj
— TNT Sports U.S. PR (@TNTSportsPR) June 2, 2026
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 2:15 PM.