Tennis: Serena to play Fed Cup tie against the Dutch

Sports Wednesday 24/January/2018 14:27 PM
By: Times News Service
Tennis: Serena to play Fed Cup tie against the Dutch

New York: Former world No. 1 Serena Williams will return to the tennis courts next month in the United States' Fed Cup first round tie against the Netherlands, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) said on Tuesday.
Williams has not played a WTA tournament since she won the Australian Open title last year and skipped this year's opening Grand Slam given concerns about her fitness four months after giving birth to her first child.
She has played once since picking up her Open-era record 23rd Grand Slam in Melbourne last year, losing to Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko in an exhibition match in Abu Dhabi last December.
The 36-year-old American will be joined by older sister Venus and world No. 9 CoCo Vandeweghe with a fourth player to be announced next week for the February 10-11 tie on an indoor hard court in Asheville, North Carolina.
The U.S. beat Belarus last year for a record-extending 18th Fed Cup title, their first in 17 years.