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At the French Open, Serena Williams has UVA connections on her side

One of the biggest news stories in the tennis world is that Serena Williams has returned to Grand Slam competition after giving birth to her first child. At this year’s French Open, she played—and won—her first match on a clay court since 2016, a 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory over Kristyna Pliskova, both unseeded. She followed that up with a doubles win with sister Venus (4-6, 6-4, 6-1) over Japanese pair of Shuko Aoyama and Miyu Kato.

The real story, though, for Virginia fans, is that there were giant V-Sabres in Serena’s coaches’ box. That’s because her new hitting partner (as of the end of 2017) is former UVA men’s tennis star Jarmere Jenkins.