There was a time when the title of Number One in the Female Tennis game was synonymous with Serena Williams, then she took some maternity leave and disappeared from the sport for a while and now she’s off her perch and finds herself in the unfamiliar position of No. 454 in the world ranking.
The Tennis star also claimed on Twitter that she still gets tested twice a week for drugs and anti-doping.
She made this known on Twitter saying: “And … just like that anti doping is here … again … second time this week,
“Proud to participate to keep the sport clean. Even if they do test me at my current ranking of 454 in the world. Two times every week.”
Williams will be competing in the 2018 French Open, but she’ll be coming in as an unseeded competitor. She is up one spot in the WTA Rankings since the Twitter post. Her sister, Venus Williams, sits at No. 9 in the world.
The Williams sisters were dominant in the sport a number of years ago but while sister Venus faded a little bit, Serena kept at the top level for a while until she took maternity leave in January 2017.
Before then she had even played while pregnant much to the surprise and awe of fans everywhere.
While on maternity leave, her ranking was protected and this enabled her to enter the French Open. But seeding is based on current rank. The French Open will be Williams’ first Grand Slam tournament appearance since giving birth to Alexis Olympia in September.
Williams said: “(A win) would mean a lot to me,
“But right now, I’m taking a little bit at a time. I feel like every week I’m getting better and every day I’m getting better. So a little bit at a time and eventually I’ll get there.”