Serena Williams to Return to Action in Kentucky After Coronavirus Hiatus

Serena Williams will return to action next week at the inaugural Top Seed Open following tennis' coronavirus-induced hiatus.

Williams headlines the inaugural field, which includes her sister Venus, 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens, American teenager Coco Gauff and two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka. The tournament, which will be held at the Top Seed Tennis Club in Lexington, Ky., comes after a five-month hiatus for the WTA in America.

Serena Williams, 38, was one of the first players to publically support the USTA's decision to return to competition amid the pandemic. The Top Seed Open will be the first U.S.-based WTA tournament held since the Oracle Challenger Series on March 2-8. The 23-time Grand Slam winner has had a slightly longer break, considering she last played in the Fed Cup in February.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, the Tennis Channel's Chanda Rubin said it will be hard for players to return to the court after a long break, but if anyone is up for the challenge, it's Williams.

"She's been one of those players over the course of her career that has the ability to...go into a major event not having a lot of matches under her belt," Rubin said. "She just knows her game, she competes so well. ...Those are the intangibles that will help her get to her best level, but it takes matches when you've been off for so long."

Following the Kentucky tournament, Williams will also headline the entry list for the Western & Southern Open at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. The event, which will be a tuneup before the U.S. Open., is normally played in Cincinnati. However, organizers moved it to New York to keep events in one place, with the aim of creating a safer environment for players amid the pandemic. 

The clay-court Palermo Ladies Open, which is currently underway, is the first WTA event since the sport came to a halt in March. However, the lead-up to the U.S. Open will ramp up on the hard-court Kentucky tournament.

The Top Seed Open is scheduled to be held from Aug. 10-16. 

Tennis Channel will have complete, live coverage of the WTA’s inaugural Top Seed Open in Lexington, Ky., – the first WTA event in the United States since the advent of the global pandemic. The action will begin Monday, Aug. 10, at 11:30 a.m. ET, and run through the end of the day’s play. Check your local listings.