Needing a "few more matches", Serena Williams accepts Parma wild card

Serena Williams has taken a wild card into next week's WTA event in Parma, joined by Venus Williams.

It follows Serena's exit in her opening match of Rome this week, her season's first clay appearance. Following her defeat to 2020 Roland Garros semifinalist Nadia Podoroska, Serena suggested lack of match practice had been an issue.

"I usually don't take this much time off on a clay-court season, so usually I play like a Charleston or a Madrid or somewhere," she told press. "It's tough to have a first match on clay... Maybe I do need a few more matches. I have been training for months, but it feels definitely different."

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Tournament organizers announced that Serena and Venus plan to play the 250-level event, which is new to the tour and fills in the extra week created by the delay of the French Open. Other players in the Emilia-Romagna Open field include Sloane Stephens, Coco Gauff, Madison Keys and local favorite Camila Giorgi.

Another new WTA event, Belgrade, will also be contested next week.

Serena is ranked No. 8 and currently in line to receive the No. 1 seed at the tournament.