Serena Williams's split with her long-time coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, received much attention in the tennis world, but the legendary American has revealed who she will be working with during her comeback to tennis.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion has not played for nearly a year. Her last appearance was at last year's Wimbledon Championships, which ended in sad and emotional scenes on Centre Court in London.
During her first round against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Williams took a nasty fall on the lush grass courts at SW19. The seven-time Wimbledon champion was immediately distressed and had to retire from the match.
It has taken Williams a long time to recover from that issue. But the 40-year-old is finally set to make her long-awaited comeback to the sport, with fans worldwide incredibly excited about the news.
Williams will play doubles alongside Ons Jabeur at the Eastbourne International. The Tunisian's style is very watchable, meaning their partnership should be fun to watch.
The former world No. 1 will then make an emotional return to Wimbledon. However, her split from Mouratoglou, who was her coach for ten years, means she needed a new coach and has confirmed who that will be.
Williams revealed she will be working alongside her sister Venus' coach, Eric Hechtman, in news that is likely to generate excitement among fans of both Serena and Venus.
"LFG! So pumped for this trip with the GOAT."
Hechtman also spent time as a hitting partner for players such as Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Venus Williams, and Serena Williams before turning to coaching. Williams's immense respect for Hechtman is evident from the tone of her Instagram story.
Whether their partnership is successful remains to be seen. However, working with someone she is familiar with after so long away from the sport may be a smart move. Williams will hope they can hit the ground running together quickly.