Serena Williams: Three options for what she does next after failed Wimbledon comeback

Serena Williams did not get the Wimbledon comeback that she was wanting as she was beaten by relative unknown Harmony Tan in the first round.

In fairness, and considering she hadn't played a singles match for a year, she gave a solid account of herself and ran out of energy more than anything else.

The question now is where she goes from here, and there appears to be three options.

It's important to note that Serena Williams has not really played a full schedule, or anything like one, for some time now.

She announced her pregnancy in April 2017, more than five years ago now, and she has not been especially active since for obvious reasons.

Serena has tended to come and go for the biggest tournaments, the Grand Slams, and generally did very well in them. That includes a quarter-final, two semi-finals and four finals. She couldn't get over the line in them though.

So, what might tempt her back, you might ask? Especially since she seems to be slowing down over the last couple of years.

Well, there is still that tempting 24th major. To be clear, Serena Williams already has the record for number of Grand Slam titles in the Open Era. However, Margaret Court has the all-time record, and Serena definitely wants it.

One thing she must now know by now, though, is that she isn't going to win more Grand Slams by simply turning up for them and chancing her arm.

Perhaps she will decide to give it one last proper year to see if she can go out with a bang.

Serena has already strongly suggested that she wants to play the US Open this year.

"When you're at home, especially in New York, and the US Open, that being the first place I've won a Grand Slam, is something that's always super special," Serena Williams said after her Wimbledon defeat.

"There's definitely lots of motivation to get better and to play at home."

She was unable to play the US Open last year due to the hamstring tear she sustained at Wimbledon, and it was such a blow to her that she went 'cold turkey' from tennis as a result.

It does seem unthinkable that America's greatest ever tennis player will bow out quietly without at least one last appearance at the US Open. That she plays Flushing Meadows this year seems a given.

Beyond that, perhaps she will fancy one last tour of the Grand Slams. She loves the Australian Open, she adores Paris so much she has an apartment there, and she may have difficulty to let Wimbledon go after two first-round failures.

Much as we all love Serena Williams, we can't ignore her age forever. The fact is she is 40 years old and a mother of a young child. It's going to be tough to sustain a tennis career on top. That's just the reality.

It's obviously going to happen soon, but the question is will it be happening now?

Only Serena knows the answer to that, but it feels unlikely that she has worked her way back and returned at Wimbledon to end her career losing to the world number 115 on Centre Court.

Don't rule it out entirely, but it certainly feels unlikely.