Serena Williams will return to queens tennis next week at the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club in London. She will play doubles with 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko after not appearing in an official match since the 2022 U.S. Open.
Queen’s Club and Berlin
Williams also practiced on the grass at Queen’s Club on Thursday alongside Mboko. The pair now gives the London event a doubles lineup that includes a 44-year-old with 23 Grand Slam singles titles and a teenager making the same grass-court stretch with her.
The Berlin Tennis Open announced Friday that Williams will also play doubles there beginning on June 15. Williams said, "Every tournament I add to my schedule right now feels special, and Berlin is no exception," and added, "I'm excited to compete in front of the German fans and continue building momentum throughout the grass-court season."
Williams Since 2022
Williams said at the U.S. Open in 2022 that she was "evolving away" from tennis. She reentered the anti-doping program earlier this year, and Lindsay Davenport said Williams might have returned earlier if she had not had to spend six months in the program.
Davenport also said, "I’d heard last year at the U.S. Open she wanted to play mixed [doubles]." She added, "She wasn't able to because of the drug-testing protocol."
Wimbledon and Williams
Williams could ask for a singles wildcard at Wimbledon depending on how her first couple of events go. Davenport said, "It's not going to be easy," but added, "If anyone could do it, certainly it could be her."
She also said, "She looks in incredible shape, and better shape than arguably when she left the sport," and, "Her mindset has always been to not settle for mediocrity." Williams has won Wimbledon seven times, won her last major at the Australian Open in 2017, and remains one behind Margaret Court and Novak Djokovic on the all-time majors list.
