Which is bigger deal for tennis: Serena Williams return or French Open

Women’s professional tennis is making big news this week for two reasons: Serena Williams is coming out of retirement next week, and a maiden French Open champion will be crowned on Saturday.

Tennis Channel media professionals recently discussed which of these events is a bigger deal for the sport

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French Open is a bigger deal

No disrespect to Serena who is the greatest of all time, but she has not played for nearly four years. She is 44, and the game has gotten younger and faster since she retired.

How she feels physically after playing and her movement will be key things people will watch closely. There is no doubt she is fit and has been training for months, but match play is different than practice.

Serena has already made history, and her legacy is not materially impacted by what she does in her comeback.

On the other hand, a maiden French Open champion is the bigger deal. It was a crazy Roland Garros this year, and the woman who ends up hoisting the trophy endured intense heat, competition, and everything else associated with being the last player standing out of the 128 who started the tournament.

MORE: Zachary Svajda’s French Open run ends with formidable battle with Flavio Cobolli

Nike disagrees

Frequently criticized for its lack of attention to tennis since Serena retired, with the exception of Naomi Osaka’s kits, Nike jumped right on the Serena return news with a clever ad.

Watch the French Open crown a new WTA champion on June 6 on TNT Sports.

Watch Serena Williams return to the sport at the HBSC Championships, also known as Queen’s Club, beginning June 8 on Tennis Channel. She is slated to play doubles with a partner yet to be named though previous rumors indicated it would be Victoria Mboko.