Serena Williams, the commentator? Not quite yet, but the second day of the former world No. 1's return to the US Open grounds saw her show her talents as an analyst with ESPN's Mary Joe Fernandez for a courtside interview during Coco Gauff and Emma Navarro's fourth-round match in Arthur Ashe Stadium, where Williams had praise for both young Americans as they went head-to-head in the Round of 16.
The six-time US Open singles champion has been spending the better part of Labor Day weekend at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, having made a comeback to the grounds for the first time since her 2022 retirement on Saturday, where she watched Jessica Pegula and Jannik Sinner play, had a locker room chat with Iga Swiatek that left the top seed "star-struck," and took some good-natured ribbing from her good friend Caroline Wozniacki for not watching her match.
Teasing from friends aside, Williams told Fernandez that the in-tournament stress level was much more managable in the stands than it was when she was on the court.
"It's definitely different," Williams said. "I like it. I like coming out, cheering, and not having all that anxiety like, 'Oh my God, I've gotta go practice."
Williams first spent her time on Sunday cheering for her good friend Grigor Dimitrov, who defeated Andrey Rublev in five sets to kick off the Day 7 day session (and he revealed post-match that she'd given him a "pep talk" on his day off), before supporting Gauff and Navarro in equal measure in an interlude on the microphone on the match's broadcast.
"I like the variety in Emma's game," Williams said. "I never was a variety player, so whenever I see someone like her that slices the ball, but also has a lot of spin on her forehand, I really admire that, because it's something I never really did. She can come in, she has great hands, and she does everything so well. She sees the court, she has a huge tennis IQ, and I love that."
"Coco also has a massive tennis IQ," she continued. "I think she really uses her brain out there. I think she can really rely on her serve; obviously, her movement is great ... and I just love her mental toughness and her mental fortitude."
Now a mother of two after giving birth to her second daughter during last year's tournament, will Williams' cameo appearance in Queens this weekend spark any ideas for a comeback to the tour?
Not likely, she joked.
"I love the sport. I love the game. I definitely want to play. I don't know if I would play professional [again], but I need some competition in my life," she laughed when Fernandez shared she'd seen her practicing. "I haven't decided what that competition is.
"But I just picked up the racquet [again] because I love the sport. On a professional level, I'm not sure I could do that right now."
