Her motivations for returning may be hard to gauge but there is no doubt the returning former champion will steal the early spotlight at SW19

At the southernmost point of the All England Lawn Tennis Club’s vast grounds, Serena Williams was starting another day of training as the clock ticked down to her first singles match after four years of retirement. Her training partner for the morning, Marta Kostyuk, soon joined her on court 10 in Aorangi Park, the quaint practice area reserved only for players.

Kostyuk is one of the more extroverted players on the tour and she is widely known for speaking her mind under all circumstances, but when Williams greeted Kostyuk and thanked her for the training session, for once the Ukrainian looked at a loss for words: “No, thank you for playing with me,” she responded.

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