LONDON -- Serena Williams had to talk herself into accepting Wimbledon's offer to play singles.
The All England Club was holding one last wild-card entry, and the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion -- who had already announced she would play doubles with her sister Venus -- had a decision to make.
"I thought I should really take this opportunity. Who knows if I'll ever make it here again. This could be it," the 44-year-old Williams said Sunday at a news conference.
"I was like, 'What's wrong with me, Serena? What are you thinking? Are you nuts? Like you really should do this,'" she added. "People live to be an athlete. I have this great opportunity to showcase what I do, what I do best, I suppose. Yeah, I think ultimately I was like that is pretty cool, so I should do it."