Serena Williams will return to the tennis court at the Rogers Cup next month. The 23-time Grand Slam winner was granted a wild card into the tournament, a WTA Premier 5 event.
Williams, who fell in straight sets in this month's Wimbledon final, has not played the Canadian tournament since 2014, when she reached the semifinals.
"We are, of course, very pleased to be able to announce the participation of Serena Williams," Eugène Lapierre, tournament director of the Rogers Cup, said in a statement. "After announcing our player list a few weeks ago, we were only missing Serena to complete our dream tournament. Serena has impressed everyone with the speed at which she was able to return to a high level of play. She has always been a fighter and she is proving it once again."
Williams on Tuesday again tweeted her dissatisfaction with the number of times she is drug tested. Williams last month said she had discussions with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency about the frequency of her tests as compared with other tennis players.
At that time, USADA confirmed that Williams had been tested five times in 2018 and had passed all tests.
...and it's that time of the day to get "randomly" drug tested and only test Serena. Out of all the players it's been proven I'm the one getting tested the most. Discrimination? I think so. At least I'll be keeping the sport clean #StayPositive
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) July 25, 2018
But I'm ready to do whatever it takes to have a clean sport so bring it on. I'm excited.
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) July 25, 2018
A three-time winner of the Rogers Cup, Williams, 36, has not won a title since returning to the tour after a 13-month maternity leave. However, the former world No. 1 did go 9-2 during the French Open-Wimbledon swing.
The Rogers Cup begins Aug. 3 at the IGA Stadium in Montreal.