Serena Williams set to play Toronto event in August

Williams, who suffered a second straight Wimbledon first-round exit this year, elected to use her protected ranking to enter the main draw of the Aug. 6-15 National Bank Open for the first time since her run to the 2019 final.

Serena Williams has decided to compete next month in Toronto, having returned to action two weeks ago at Wimbledon after a year away from competition, tournament organisers said on Thursday.

Serena Williams of the U.S. in action during her first round match against France's Harmony Tan (REUTERS)

Williams, who suffered a second straight Wimbledon first-round exit this year, elected to use her protected ranking to enter the main draw of the Aug. 6-15 National Bank Open for the first time since her run to the 2019 final.

In that final, Canada's Bianca Andreescu consolidated a break to go 3-1 up at which point Williams, a three-time winner of the event, went to her chair and broke down in tears due to back spasms that forced her to retire 19 minutes into the match.

Organisers said 41 of the top 43-ranked players on the WTA Tour are on the Toronto entry list, including Poland's world number one Iga Swiatek, four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka of Japan and Britain's U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.