Serena Williams begins her long-awaited comeback by overcoming challenges on and off the court

Immediately after a straight-sets win over Zarina Diyas in her comeback match, Williams was quizzed about her use of a TUE (therapeutic use exemption) at the 2015 French Open

Serena Williams made a winning return (Getty)

Deep into the opening set of her long-awaited competitive comeback, Serena Williams was forced to pause before a pivotal point, looking up towards the night’s sky and taking a deep, restorative breath. She was two points away from dropping the first set to World No 53 Zarina Diyas, in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open.

She responded in true Serena style: by gambling. Unleashing a huge second serve that kicked up viciously off the blue court, an unbalanced Diyas was forced to awkwardly rock back on her heels, shanking her return out of play. The point won, Williams recovered to take the set and eventually the match, 7-5 6-3. She plays Kiki Bertens in the next round.

But if things were tough on the court for the 23-time Grand Slam winner, who had not played a competitive match since defeating her sister Venus in the 2017 Australian Open final, they got a whole lot tougher in the brightly-lit Indian Wells press room. The unexpected grilling that followed her victory rather soured the party mood for Williams, who had no doubt been anticipating a more or less uninterrupted barrage of questions about her baby daughter from the notoriously forgiving American press pack.

Serena Williams won on her competitive return (Getty)

“Serena, this was a while ago but I haven’t had an occasion to ask you before,” one intrepid hack struck up. “There was a leak of some of your WADA documents, showing that you got a backdated TUE for prednisolone at the 2015 French Open. I was wondering if you could just address that a little bit and talk about how you got to take it, and why you didn’t get a TUE at the time…”

“Why I didn’t get a … excuse me?” Williams interrupted. And then a flicker of annoyance: “Can you talk louder, so everyone can hear you ask about my drugs?”

The line of questioning was somewhat unexpected, largely because the Russian hacker group that released Williams’ World Anti-Doping Agency record did so back in September 2016. The documents revealed that Williams was granted a backdated TUE (therapeutic use exemption) for prednisone at the 2015 French Open, to help alleviate symptoms from an illness she had contracted before the tournament.

She battled through sickness to win the 2015 French Open (Getty)

It was a tough two weeks for Williams, who missed a number of practice sessions and scheduled interviews. But, like a champion, she ground it out, winning a total of five three-set matches en route to her 20th Grand Slam singles title.

In contrast to sister Venus, who was also a victim of the Fancy Bears hack and chose to release a statement defending her integrity at the time, Serena decided not address the release of her medical records. But in Indian Wells she had no choice.

“I've never tested positive [for an illegal substance],” Williams said. “I've always gotten a TUE, so you should fact check that. I wasn't going to play [the French Open] unless I had a TUE because if you remember that year I was incredibly sick. I don’t even know how even won the match, and I said I literally can’t play the final, but I need a TUE to take a decongestant. At the end of the day, that’s what it is.”

Venus Williams also had her medical records hacked (Getty)

Williams has previously shown a reluctance to address the leak and in 2016 even abruptly walking out of an interview with a French broadcaster, when the line of questioning was steered to her TUE usage. But here, before she returned to the decidedly safer ground of new baby questions, she stressed to the media that she has always been an “extremely honest” player during her two decades on tour.

“I have always been very happy to answer any questions about that. I have played for over 20 years and I have always been extremely honest,” she added, a smile returning to her face. “That is one thing I take pride in, especially having a daughter and having a kid. I am never going to be able to look my kid in the eye and say: ‘Mum cheated’, or ‘Mum did something that is totally irresponsible.’

“And even before that, I have always had that attitude. I have always been that kind of player that, if you are going to beat me, you are going to beat me and I’m going to congratulate you. But I am never, ever going to try to take an advantage over someone else, because that is not who I am and that never will be who I am.”

It was an unforeseen detour, but an illuminating one: as her sport’s greatest player and one of the most influential sportspeople in the world, her silence on the topic was unusual. And, with the record now set straight, the more important questions could resume. “Serena,” started up the next journalist, “what is the most wonderful part about being a new mum?”