Serena Williams won her first Grand Slam match in 16 months, advancing to the French Open second round as the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion continues her return from pregnancy.
Williams, wearing a black skinsuit reminiscent of her 2002 U.S. Open catsuit, swept Czech Kristyna Pliskova 7-6 (4), 6-4, coming back from an 0-3 deficit to start the first-set tiebreak and an 0-2 hole to open the second set in Paris. Pliskova is 0-4 career at the French Open.
“Today wasn’t easy,” Williams said on Tennis Channel. “Before I walked on the court, I texted to see how [daughter Alexis] was doing, got a little worried as moms always do, but she’s doing great.