Serena Williams will face Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova in her first match for almost a year next week at Eastbourne following the draw made on Saturday. The former world number one, who claimed the last of her 13 grand slam titles at last year’s Wimbledon, has not played a match since badly cutting her foot on glass last July and then suffering a series of health problems. The 29-year-old American, who needed emergency treatment for blood clots on her lungs in February, ended speculation about her participation at Wimbledon this week when she was granted a wildcard to play in the Eastbourne warm-up event. Currently 25th in the rankings, she has not played in the event on the south coast since 1998 when she reached the quarter-finals as a teenager, losing to Spain’s Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. Neither her, nor sister Venus, who is also making her comeback from a long injury lay-off, are seeded at Eastbourne.
