What are Serena Williams' chances of succeeding in Toronto despite being away for a year?

| by Sebastian Dahlman

In the past, Serena Williams enjoyed quite a lot of success at the WTA 1000 event in Canada and she will try to follow that path also in 2022.

After coming back after almost a year and playing at this year's Wimbledon, many wondered where is Serena Williams going to appear next. Now, we know it. The 23-time Grand Slam champion will participate at the WTA 1000 event in Toronto as she will try to prepare for the 2022 US Open.

Last time the Canadian Open was held in Toronto, Serena Williams played the final against Bianca Andreescu. Yet, the experienced American was forced to retire already after 4 games. Later that year, the two met again in the US Open final and again it was the Canadian who was leaving with the trophy.

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At the previous five events that Williams played in Canada, she always reached at least a semifinal. In 2015, she lost in the semifinal to Belinda Bencic and in 2014 she got beaten by her sister Venus in the semifinal. In 2013 and 2011, she captured back-to-back titles in Toronto and this year, she will try to improve her record even more.

However, it's been quite some time since Serena played more matches in a row and it still remains to be seen how well is she doing physically. On the other hand, almost every time Williams returned back from an injury, she was able to get very close to her highest level and go far at the tournaments.

So what are her chances of possibly winning the 2022 Canadian Open in Toronto? Due to being unseeded, she will certainly need to play at least one extra match compared to the Top 8 players. On the other hand, the first match might be the one that gets the 23-time Grand Slam champion into the rhythm and starts her journey at the tournament.

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"Not ready to retire" - Serena Williams' coach on her future

It's no secret that except for Iga Swiatek, there aren't any dominant figures on the WTA Tour at the moment. So if the American gets drawn into the bottom part and doesn't face the young Pole until the final, her chances might be quite high.

On the other hand, if she draws a solid opponent such as Ons Jabeur, who she played doubles with on her comeback, or 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, she might be in some trouble. Yet, Serena showed many times that when people don't expect much from her, she can surprise everyone.

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