It appears that the Williams sisters are not overly concerned about being selected to play mixed doubles at the London Olympics. The U.S. can only have two parings in the 16-team draw, and potential teams of Mike Bryan and Lisa Raymond, as well as Bob Bryan and Liezel Huber have already indicated they would like to play together. Serena and Venus are both scheduled to play singles and doubles.
Serena, who is contending with a bad back, has entertained thoughts of playing mixed with Andy Roddick, John Isner, or one of the Bryans. However, she is already committed to playing singles, as well as doubles with her sister Venus. Playing mixed could potentially mean playing 15 matches in nine days. It's also questionable if Roddick would want to play mixed, as he's playing singles, doubles with Isner, and has been complaining of a "dead" shoulder.
At a news conference in London, Venus, who is suffering from Sjogren’s Syndrome, said: "I think when we first heard about mixed we wanted to play for all three and knew we would really have to be at the ultimate fitness level to do so. But at the end of the day it's going to be what our team captains want. Obviously we're interested in seeing who could have the best chance to win because we really want to bring medals home. It's about the betterment of the team and what would be the best for the USA."
A few weeks ago, when informed by TENNIS.com that the Bryans, Raymond, and Huber wanted to participate in the mixed doubles event, Serena sounded relieved.
"I definitely want to play singles and I really want to play doubles so I don’t know how three would work. That could definitely be the answer to my problems so we’ll see."