"I don’t even care if she wins a Grand Slam or not, Serena Williams is playing tournaments" - Tennis fans react to the American confirming for Toronto & Cincinnati

For the second time this year, Serena Williams has set the internet abuzz with her confirmation to play the National Bank Open and the Cincinnati Open in the build-up to the 2022 US Open.

The American icon's fans are delighted to see her play in warm-up tournaments for the last Grand Slam of the year, unlike at Wimbledon, where she made a comeback after a year. While the National Bank Open, or the Rogers Cup, will be held from August 8-14 in Toronto, the Western & Southern Open will take place from August 15-21 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Cincinnati.

The last time Williams participated in both events in the same year was in 2015.

Fans on Twitter were thrilled to learn about her playing in Toronto and Cincinnati, where she has won three and two titles, respectively. There were also a few who guessed that the 40-year-old star might retire by the end of the season.

Here are some of the reactions:

"I don’t even care if she wins a grand slam or not; or a title, or losses in the first round; or never makes the top 10 ever again; Serena Williams is playing tournaments," a fan tweeted.

"She's actually coming for the USO title OMG," a user posted.

"Surprised she’s entered both tbh, but I’m glad. Not only because we get more Serena matches which we must cherish, but also because it means she’s taking things a bit more seriously. Knows she can’t just rock up and expect easy wins like she tried at Wimbledon," another fan said.

"My brain says this is a final ramp up for a big US Open push before retirement in NY. My Heart says she was just disappointed with the results in London and wants to push herself to be match ready to compete for the finals going forward," another tweet read.

"Serena Williams doesn’t enter tournaments and y’all say 'she’s retired'. She enters more tournaments and y’all say 'she’s getting ready for one last push then she’s going to retire'. The constant retirement discussion is tired. Leave the GOAT alone," a fan wrote.

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Serena Williams comeback didn't go as expected

Serena Williams suffered a rare first-round defeat at Wimbledon.

Serena Williams gave one of the biggest surprises to tennis fans a few days before the 2022 Wimbledon Championships by announcing her comeback at Eastbourne, where she played doubles with Ons Jabeur. She was subsequently awarded a singles wildcard for the grasscourt Major.

However, the 23-time Grand Slam champion failed to advance to the second round as she lost to France's Harmony Tan in a little over three hours.

This was the first singles match for the American in 52 weeks, with her last one coming against Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus in the first round of the 2021 Wimbledon Championships. Williams suffered a leg injury and had to retire from that match, which kept her out of action for nearly a year after that.