Serena Williams eyes up Rio Games
After finally regaining form over the last year, gold medallist Serena Williams is already planning her title defence.
A day after completing a career Golden Slam, Serena Williams still wants more.
Williams was already thinking about defending her women’s Olympic tennis singles gold medal in four years time at the Rio de Janeiro Games just a day after teaming up with sister Venus to win gold in doubles for the third time.
“I plan on being there unless an act of god doesn’t allow me to,” Williams said on Monday from the Olympic Park.
The 14-time Grand Slam singles champion, who shares the tennis record of four golds each with Venus, has no plans to slow down after coming through the health scares that sidelined her for 14 months.
“When I feel I can’t be greatest I shouldn’t play anymore, but I feel I belong. I’m not tired, I’m enjoying myself,” said the 30-year-old Williams, who couldn’t contain herself and broke into a ‘Crip Walk’ dance after beating Maria Sharapova on Saturday to add Olympic gold to her titles in all four major tournaments.
“I was so happy to just win. I’ve been so out of it the last years, (and from) where I was to come back and win this is just an amazing thing for me, for all the hard work I’ve been doing. When I get happy, I dance,” Williams said.
Now that the gold rush is over, the fourth-ranked player plans to try to add a few more Olympic pins to her growing collection and take in some of the London Games atmosphere before playing in Cincinnati, which is her last tournament before defending her U.S. Open title later this month.
“I never go outside (during the Olympics), I never venture too much. I can’t get too crazy, so now that I have time to relax maybe I have some time to do more,” Williams said.