INDIAN WELLS, California, March 4 (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic suggested on Wednesday that Serena Williams could see Wimbledon as the ideal venue to return to tennis if the 23-times Grand Slam champion decides to make a comeback to the game later this year.
The 44-year-old American has not played since the 2022 U.S. Open, after which she said she was "evolving away from tennis," but fuelled speculation about a potential return after re-entering the sport's anti-doping pool last year.
"I think she's coming back. I don't know. I haven't spoken to her, but I guess the sentiment is that she's coming back,” Djokovic told reporters at Indian Wells.
"I pick that one (Wimbledon) as well as her comeback, but yeah, I don't know. I think she might maybe play a doubles tournament or two with Venus. That would be nice to see, just from my point of view and for tennis fans."
Djokovic added that having one of the game's most dominant figures back in action would be a welcome sight.
“She's one of the greatest athletes,” he said. “It would be great to have her back.”
Tennis Channel analyst Prakash Amritraj said Williams would have to get some warm-up events under her belt before making a return at an event such as Wimbledon, where she won seven Grand Slam titles.
“Maybe there's a world where she is gearing up for Wimbledon,” he told Reuters.
"But I don't think she would just rock up and play it. She definitely needs to get some matches in before playing. So maybe there are some warm-up tournaments.
"And then on the lighter side, if she's doing it, I got my wish list card for Serena-Roger (Federer) mixed doubles at the U.S. Open."
Williams’ former coach Rick Macci has also recently commented on the speculation and said her impressive training regimen pointed towards a comeback.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Indian Wells; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
