INDIAN WELLS, Calif. _ Looking unsure at first but quickly gaining strength with each serve and each potent backhand she unleashed, Serena Williams made a triumphant return to competitive tennis Thursday night by overpowering Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan 7-5, 6-3 in a first-round match at the BNP Paribas Open.
Williams, 36, had not played in a tournament since she won the 2017 Australian Open while in the early stages of her pregnancy with her daughter Alexis. The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion initially planned to return to the tour at this year's Australian Open but a difficult delivery and subsequent health problems led her to delay her comeback until this week at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. She was warmly supported by the crowd, with voices occasionally crying out, "Go Serena," and shouting "Welcome home" to the former Compton resident. Her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, watched from courtside along with other members of her family.
"It was incredible," Williams said during an on-court interview on a cool night at Stadium 1. "It's been over a year, and a kid later, and I get to go home now to her, and I'm excited about that."
Williams' power was immediately evident Thursday night, though her precision was missing. She had played some exhibition singles matches and a Fed Cup doubles match but those aren't the same as knockout matches. She ended up with four aces, but also four double faults.
Williams had defeated Diyas in their two previous matches, including a third-round encounter at Indian Wells in the third round of the 2015 tournament, and she hadn't lost a set to Diyas. This was the first tournament in which Williams was unseeded since 2011 at Cincinnati.
"It definitely wasn't easy," Williams said of facing Diyas, who has risen in the rankings to No. 53 a year after being ranked No. 187. "I've played her several times before and we've always had a couple of tight sets."
The first set on Thursday went according to serve, although Williams had four break points in the fifth game and couldn't capitalize. Williams finally broke the serve of her 24-year-old opponent to take a 6-5 lead, pumping her fist in delight and shouting, "Come on!" She then served out the set.
In the second set, Williams broke to take a 3-2 lead but Diyas broke back for 3-3. Williams broke back and then served an ace to hold serve and take a 5-3 lead. Williams closed out the match when Diyas sent a forehand wide. Williams smiled widely, then raised her arm in victory and waved to the appreciative crowd. "It was good. I'm a little rusty," Williams said, with a laugh. "But it doesn't matter. I'm just out here on this journey and doing the best I can."
Her best was more than good enough for her to win on Thursday, which had been designated as International Women's Day. "I'm so excited to play on this night," said Williams, who next will face No. 29 seed Kiki Bertens. "It was perfect. It was meant to be, I think."
