Coco Gauff’s one wish for Serena Williams following her return to tennis

Serena Williams has lost her first match since coming back to tennis, falling in the doubles opener at the Berlin Open.

Partnering with Karolina Muchova at the WTA 500 event in Germany, Williams was defeated 6-4, 6-4 by Erin Routliffe and Giuliana Olmos.

The result came after Williams had played alongside Victoria Mboko at Queen’s, where they won their opening match before an injury forced the Canadian out of the tournament.

Williams is set to play doubles with her sister Venus at Wimbledon. Coco Gauff has spoken about wanting to be one of Serena’s future doubles partners, joining a growing list of players eager for that opportunity.

Coco Gauff shares doubles ambition

Speaking to TNT Sports, Gauff said: “Yeah, she is definitely one of the main reasons why I decided to play tennis, for sure.

“Yeah, it’d be really cool. I’m hoping that one day she’ll hit up my line to play doubles. That would be really, really cool.

“And if she were to compete in singles, it would be cool to step on the court with her just because she’s a legend and someone I looked up to.

Gauff is also competing in doubles at the Berlin Open alongside fellow American Jessica Pegula.

How Serena and Venus Williams helped shape Gauff’s Wimbledon ambitions

Gauff is using the Berlin Open as a tune-up for Wimbledon, where Serena and Venus have been given a wildcard entry into the doubles draw.

The pair already have an impressive record on grass, having lifted the trophy six times together, in addition to their gold medal from the 2012 London Olympics.

Reflecting on what it means to see them back at Wimbledon, Gauff said: “Serena and Venus won that tournament a lot both, so I think it was always a tournament that I watched growing up, and hoped to win, and still hope to win.”

Even with her two Grand Slam titles, Wimbledon remains the one major where she hasn’t found her best form yet.

She’s won both the US Open and French Open along with reaching the semifinals in Australia but has never advanced past the fourth round at SW19.

This year could be different though. With Serena and Venus back in action around the club, there may be an extra spark of motivation for Gauff as she looks to finally make her mark on Centre Court.

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