Serena Williams has been photographed at the Queen's Club in London as she prepares for a dramatic return to professional tennis at the age of 44. The American, a 23-time grand slam champion, shocked the tennis world last week by announcing her intention to compete again.
Comeback Tournament
Her first tournament will be in the women's doubles at the HSBC Championships at the Queen's Club in London next week, nearly four years after her last competitive match. This tournament traditionally precedes Wimbledon, raising the prospect of Williams returning to the iconic grand slam starting on June 29.
Wildcard and Partnership
Williams has been granted a wildcard at Queen's and will partner Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko, who idolised the American as a child. On Thursday morning, they posed for a photo together on the venue's famed grass courts before a practice session.
Alongside a GOAT emoji, Mboko captioned the photo: 'The Queen is back. An honour to share the court with one of the greatest athletes of all time this week. Even more excited to play doubles together! Tennis is pretty special.'
Announcement and Reactions
When announcing her decision to come out of retirement, Williams posted a video showing her on court in a white Nike tennis dress with her phone exploding with notifications. The clip read: 'Guess everybody heard the news.'
In a press release, Williams said: 'Queen's Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter. Grass has given me some of the most meaningful moments of my career, and I'm excited to be back competing on one of the sport's most iconic stages.'
Background
Williams, who shares daughters Alexis and Adira with husband Alexis Ohanian, has not played a competitive match since being knocked out in the third round of the US Open in 2022. At the time, she avoided using the word retirement, instead saying she was 'evolving away' from tennis. However, an imminent return was hinted at when she re-entered tennis' anti-doping programme in December, a prerequisite to play on the tour again.
When it was revealed last year that Williams had signed up for drug testing, she wrote on social media: 'Omg yall I'm NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy.'
Impact on Tennis
Williams, who has also won 14 grand slam doubles titles, has been eligible to play since February but chose the British grass-court season for her comeback, making it one of the biggest sports stories of the year. Her return is a huge coup for the HSBC Championships and tournament director Laura Robson, with women's tennis returning to Queen's last year for the first time since 1973.
Asked at the French Open whether the news is good for tennis, Naomi Osaka said: 'I don't really care about tennis. I think it's good for me. I'll be very entertained. I think it will bring people to watch tennis, which she always does. So I think it's good. I'm going to be tuned into the first match, for sure.'
Coco Gauff added: 'I did say one of my biggest regrets was not being able to play her. Everybody has been hearing rumours. If they are true, I guess we'll find out. I think it would be cool for this sport to have a legend back playing.'
