Venus Williams says she gave herself more time to recover from the hip injury she sustained at the 2011 Australian Open than she did a knee injury last fall because of her negative experience in Melbourne, where she had to retire at a Grand Slam for the first time. Her mother and coach Oracene chided her for asking the trip in the first place. Venus returned last week in Eastbourne after taking five months off to rehabilitate her hip.
"I avoided calling my mom because she said, ‘You're not trying to come back too soon, are you?’ Bullying me about it," Venus said after her 6-3, 6-1 win over Akgul Amanmuradova at Wimbledon. "So this time I couldn't come back too soon or I'd be in the same situation as I was in Australia. That was very painful, is not something to go through twice. So I tried to come back this time when I felt like I was a lot stronger and not injured."