By Tennis Now | Saturday, December 30, 2017
Serena Williams fell to Jelena Ostapenko, 6-2, 3-6, 10-5, in her comeback match.
Photo credit: Mubadala Tennis Championship
New mom Serena Williams launched her comeback in Abu Dhabi.
While Williams worked to shake off the rust after 11 months of inactivity, she couldn't shed the Grand Slam opponent on the other side of the net.
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Reigning Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko spoiled Williams' comeback with a 6-2, 3-6, 10-5 victory in the Mubadala Tennis Championship exhibition match.
It was the first time a women's match was staged at the Mubadala Tennis Championship.
"I'm excited, it's good to be back on the court," Williams told the crowd in her on-court interview afterward. "This was such a good time for me. It's my first time playing in Abu Dhabi so thank you guys for the support. First matches back are always super incredibly hard, especially after having a baby but it was great, I’m glad I could do it here."
It was Williams' first match since she beat older sister Venus to capture her Open Era-record 23rd Grand Slam championship at the Australian Open last January.
The 36-year-old Serena gave birth to her first child, daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian on September 1st.
"Motherhood is phenomenal," Serena said in her on-court interview. "I was a little worried out there and I looked at my camp and I was like 'Is Olympia ok?'. But it's really good."
Nearly, 11 months to the day after her last match, Serena said the simple act of playing again was exciting.
"I can't rate my performance; I've had a lot of comebacks from surgery," Williams said. "But I've never had a comeback from actually giving birth to a human being. So in my eyes, I feel it was a wonderful, wonderful match for me.
"For me, it's all about physical. How do I physically feel? How am I moving? How am I physically recovering? That's kind of more what it is for me. I can't give myself a rating. I'm just really proud of being out here, being able to just compete. I had a really tough few months and I'm just really excited to be out here."
The four-time Olympic gold medal champion is on the entry list for the Australian Open, which begins on January 15th.
Williams shared her thoughts on her life-altering 2017 in an Instagram post: