Serena Williams celebrated a winning return to tennis at the HSBC Championships in London on Tuesday, partnering with 19-year-old Victoria Mboko to defeat Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe 7-6 (2) 6-2 in the first round of doubles.
A long-awaited comeback
The 44-year-old, a seven-time Wimbledon singles champion, had not played a competitive match in 1,376 days, since her farewell at the 2022 US Open. She chose Mboko, the 2025 WTA Newcomer of the Year, as her partner, noting that the Canadian teen reminded her of herself.
Williams explained that her return was sparked by a "why not?" moment and gave her a chance to play in front of her daughters, Olympia and Adira, whom she shares with Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Both children were in the stands at the Andy Murray Arena.
Match highlights
Williams hit a 120mph serve and showed glimpses of her old form, delighting the crowd. The pair started strongly, breaking serve early, and despite losing their serve once in the first set, they recovered to take it in a tiebreak. In the second set, they broke again and closed out the match with two emphatic aces from Williams.
The American legend received a standing ovation as she walked onto the court, and the crowd cheered her every winner. The match was played under sunny skies after earlier rain delays, which had affected British number one Emma Raducanu's singles win earlier in the day.
Williams said before the match that she had won enough in her lifetime and was not focused on the outcome, but she looked pleased to secure her first comeback victory.
