Three takeaways from Serena Williams’ return

9:18 AMASHEVILLE, North Carolina — What’s happened in the world of Serena Williams since she won the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant:

• She gave birth to a daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., in September.
• She battled postpregnancy complications, including life-threatening blood clots.
• She got married last November to Alexis Ohanian, a tech entrepreneur and co-founder of Reddit.

Williams made her return to tennis over the weekend, playing doubles in the Fed Cup opener against the Netherlands at the U.S. Cellular Center. The United States won the opening-round series, 3-1, on the strength of two wins by Venus Williams, who clinched the trip to the Fed Cup semifinals with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Richèl Hogenkamp.

While Venus Williams was the star, Serena was the attraction despite the fact that she’s clearly not ready to compete in competitive singles.

Here are three takeaways from Serena Williams’ weekend in Asheville:

• She is still the top draw in women’s tennis: The event sold out within days of the announcement that the Williams sisters would play. Tickets initially went on sale in November.

You might say the sisters drew the crowd. Yes, the two are tennis legends.

But here’s the difference: Venus attracts crowds. Serena can sell out an arena.

That’s no disrespect to Venus Williams, who ranks as one of the great players in the history of women’s tennis. But just like the reason people came out to see Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and the Chicago Bulls, it’s clear who the main attraction is when Williams comes to town.

• Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. is adorable: Did you see the 5-month-old sporting a blue-and-white striped USA shirt and a red-and-white striped headband? Alexis took in the action while being held by her father.

She’s already Instagram famous with 264,000 followers, the same number as her dad.

Don’t expect Williams to compete for a Grand Slam anytime soon: There were reports at the end of last year that Williams would be in Melbourne, Australia, to defend her Australian Open title, but she pulled out of the event in early January.

On the eve of the Fed Cup, Williams couldn’t even commit to playing in the remaining Grand Slam tournaments this year. “Right now, I’m focused on this weekend,” she said Feb. 9. “After that I’ll figure out what it might be.”

Based on what Williams showed over the weekend, it might not be anytime soon. She’s still getting back into playing shape, and her agility and ability to hit precision shots is off. And she didn’t appear to be completely sure of herself, and watching her freeze on occasion during the match was a sign that she had lost her muscle memory.

Williams said she has yet to learn to adequately manage her time and new responsibilities. “It’s an incredible learning experience,” she said. “I’m going to try to do better.”

At times Williams looked to be facing the dilemma that many 50-something basketball players face: Her mind was relaying a message that her body had no clue how to comprehend.

But unlike a 50-something Saturday morning hooper, the 36-year-old Williams has age and time on her side. At some point she’s going to get more comfortable leaving her daughter with a sitter or a nanny, freeing herself up to get more hours on the court to refine her game. At that point, the aura of Serena Williams will return.

When will that happen? The French Open will be upon us quickly (May 27), so perhaps next year.

But it will happen. Reaching No. 25, the all-time record for Grand Slam titles, is too important to Williams.

Right now she stands at 23, just one behind Margaret Court.

Williams, through hard work and determination, is determined to get there.

“I always want to improve on everything,” Williams said. “If I walk out there with low expectations, then I need to stop doing what I do.

“So that’s never going to happen for me. I’m always going to have the best and highest expectations for myself.”