LONDON (AP) 鈥� could be up next in the .
After the , and the final to be played just across the Hudson River, it looks like another circus is coming to town.
To the Flushing Meadows section of Queens, to be precise.
All indications point to the 44-year-old Williams playing the U.S. Open next month for the first time in four years.
鈥淗er intention is to keep playing; the U.S. Open as well,鈥� , one of Williams鈥� coaches, said at on Tuesday 鈥� a week after Serena lost in .
Williams injured her right knee midway through a three-set loss to Maya Joint at the All England Club and on Saturday.
Williams shared over the weekend that included images of four syringes filled with fluid drained from her knee.
鈥淎s long as physically she can go 鈥� and I鈥檓 hoping in a few weeks that鈥檚 the case 鈥� to get her back on the court and hitting balls,鈥� Stubbs said.
Main draw singles play at the U.S. Open starts Aug. 30.
鈥淎ll I can say,鈥� Serena said after her loss, 鈥渋s stay tuned to a city near you.鈥�
鈥業t will be huge鈥�
James Blake, the Yonkers, New York, native who reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals twice, knows just what Williams will bring to the tournament.
鈥淚t will be huge and it鈥檚 deserved because she鈥檚 the greatest of all time on the women鈥檚 side 鈥� and an American,鈥� Blake said of the 23-time Grand Slam champion. 鈥淪he鈥檚 an idol for so many young girls.鈥�
Blake is now the Miami Open tournament director and a tennis commentator for ESPN.
鈥淪he鈥檚 been through this for the last 20 years so she knows what a circus it will be and she鈥檚 willing to put herself through that,鈥� Blake told The Associated Press. 鈥淭hat shows how much she loves the game and she loves the competition.鈥�
Added : 鈥淪erena is a legend. Everyone wants to see her on the court again. It鈥檚 a great story.鈥�
Williams practiced at Bryan’s club in Florida earlier this year.
鈥淪he wasn鈥檛 giving away too much information but she was getting 12 rackets strung. … So we knew she was serious,鈥� Bryan said. 鈥淗opefully she gets healthy and can make a run this summer. She鈥檚 going to win again for sure. She鈥檚 a champion.鈥�
Warmup tournaments
Williams played only two doubles matches 鈥� but no singles 鈥� before Wimbledon. Expect her to play more singles before the U.S. Open.
If she desires, Williams should have no problem obtaining wild card invitations from tournament organizers at U.S. Open warmups in Toronto and Cincinnati, Ohio.
鈥淚 know that for her, trying to play certainly something before the U.S. Open will be something she would like to do,鈥� Stubbs said. 鈥淏ut at the same time it鈥檚 going to depend on how physically she鈥檚 doing.鈥�
Knee issue
In Williams鈥� social media post about her injury, she said 鈥渢he good news is my knee shouldn鈥檛 swell or collect that much fluid again.鈥�
Still, it was more of a factor against Joint than many people thought, according to Stubbs.
鈥淪he did whisper to me, 鈥業 would have won if I had a good knee,鈥欌�� Stubbs said. 鈥淟eading up to the tournament, she was playing practice sets (and) beating players that are still in the tournament. I won鈥檛 mention which ones because I don鈥檛 want to embarrass them but she was playing well.鈥�
Despite being away for so long, Williams still hit serves beyond 120 mph and showed off her same old heavy groundstrokes, which landed within inches of the baseline.
The only real issue was her movement.
鈥淐onsidering how bad the knee was it鈥檚 pretty miraculous really that she went as long as she did in the match,鈥� Stubbs said. 鈥淪he was rubbing her legs every change of end. 鈥� So I could see that there was something going on that was a little unusual for her.
鈥淏ut the fact that she got through, walked off the court and nobody even really knew was pretty miraculous. And it also shows how high her pain tolerance is.鈥�
Hard courts
After the grass of Wimbledon, the hard courts of the U.S. Open 鈥� which she has won six times in singles 鈥� could be more favorable for Williams.
鈥淓verybody saw her standard was still pretty good and so once she gets on the hard courts she鈥檚 going to have better stability,鈥� Stubbs said. 鈥淲e all know how well she plays on hard courts so it鈥檚 just a matter of getting her body back in into the shape she wants.鈥�
Added retired player Caroline Wozniacki, one of Williams鈥� best friends: 鈥淚 thought she moved well already on the grass. 鈥� She didn鈥檛 win the more important points in the match, but she did a good job. I would expect her to just keep doing better as this comeback progresses.鈥�
Match toughness
Williams was broken only once as she lost the opening set to Joint. Then she won the second in a tiebreaker and didn鈥檛 really fade away until midway through the third.
鈥淚鈥檓 sure just playing a few matches will get her more precise,鈥� Blake said. 鈥淪he missed one easy ball and then things unraveled a little bit. When she鈥檚 at her best that turns into one point instead of a game or two games or three games. She鈥檒l get back to being match-tough.
鈥淚f she plays three or four matches before the U.S. Open,鈥� Blake added, 鈥渋t will be 鈥� not an entirely different player 鈥� but quite an improvement by the U.S. Open.鈥�
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