"She is the greatest female athlete of all time" - Maria Sakkari has high praise for Serena Williams ahead of Wimbledon return

WTA star Maria Sakkari reckons Serena Williams is the greatest female athlete in the history of sport as the American returns to action this week after a lengthy injury layoff.

Williams, 40, hasn't been in action since injuring her ankle in her first-round loss to Aliaksandra Sasnovich at Wimbledon last year. She's now all set to return to the tour, albeit in doubles, at Eastbourne International this week, playing with Ons Jabeur.

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Sakkari, who grew up watching the Williams sisters - Venus and Serena - feels the latter's return can only be good for the game.

"I grew up watching Serena and Venus because my grandma is a tennis freak," Sakkari said. "I just feel like it's very good for tennis that she is back and I think that it brought a little bit more suspense."

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The Greek added that no player wants to face Williams, widely regarded as one of the greatest female tennis players in history.

"I'm sure that everyone wants to avoid her, especially if she wins a few matches," she said. "She will start feeling good about her game, and she is Serena Williams. She is the greatest female athlete of all time."