Serena Williams' doubles campaign at Queen's is over after the tournament confirmed Victoria Mboko has been forced to withdraw through injury. The 44-year-old made her return to tennis at the London tournament this week and in her first match for 1,375 days, won in straight sets alongside her Canadian team-mate.
Mboko's Injury Forces Withdrawal
But the teenager was forced to retire in the singles at the same event. Mboko, leading 4-2 in the second set after losing the first 6-2, suffered a nasty fall against Karolina Pliskova. The 19-year-old sustained a knee injury and limped off the court in tears, conceding the match. Because of the incident, she has now been forced to pull out of the doubles.
That means Williams, who was appearing in her first tournament since the 2022 US Open, will not play again. The American and Mboko were due to face Canadian Layla Fernandez and German Laura Siegemund in the second round of the doubles. But Fernandez and Siegemund will now progress straight into the semi-finals without playing a point. They will play either the second seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani or Iva Jovic and McCartney Kessler.
Williams Adds Berlin to Schedule
Williams, meanwhile, has added the Berlin Tennis Open to her comeback schedule. The tournament begins on June 15 but the singles and doubles Golden Slam winner has not yet confirmed who her doubles partner will be in Germany. But it could be Czech Karolina Muchova, the 2023 French Open runner-up.
"Every tournament I add to my schedule right now feels special, and Berlin is no exception," she said. "I'm excited to compete in front of the German fans and continue building momentum throughout the grass-court season."
She is yet to decide whether or not she will play at Wimbledon later this month, saying: "It's just a day at a time. I still have a little time to decide, and they have been great about giving me that space and time to decide."
Speculation About Gauff Partnership
There has been speculation Williams could team up with her compatriot and world No.7 Coco Gauff. The 22-year-old, a two-time singles Grand Slam champion, is presently focused on winning Wimbledon for the first time. But she won the French Open doubles event in 2024 having reached the semi-finals in Australia and the final of the US Open. Gauff has openly admitted Williams was one of her icons.
Gauff told ESPN in 2023: "Serena is Serena. She's the GOAT. I'd hope to do half of what she did. But I'm not gonna compare myself to her. She's someone I look up to. Being in the same stat line as her means a lot to me. She's my idol. The only regret I'll have for the rest of my life is not being able to play her. There were so many tournaments where if we won an extra round and didn't lose, I would've played her. I'm still happy to just be a product of her legacy."
