Serena Williams confirms tennis return at Queen’s ahead of Wimbledon

Serena Williams has confirmed she will return to competitive tennis at the age of 44 to play doubles at the Queen’s Club Championships ahead of a potential Wimbledon appearance.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion will partner Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko at the west London tournament starting on 8 June.

Speculation regarding a comeback intensified after the American re-entered the international anti-doping testing pool last year following the birth of her second child.

‘The perfect place to begin this next chapter’

The former world number one has not played competitively since an emotional third-round exit at the 2022 US Open.

Rather than officially retiring at Flushing Meadows, the tennis icon carefully stated she was evolving away from the sport to focus on her growing family.

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.

Serena Williams

Targeting a historic grass-court return

The upcoming grass-court swing offers a highly successful hunting ground for the seven-time Wimbledon singles champion.

She also boasts six Wimbledon doubles titles alongside her sister Venus, firmly solidifying her hall-of-fame legacy at the All England Club.

Her final appearance at SW19 ended in a narrow first-round defeat to France’s Harmony Tan during the 2022 tournament.

WTA tournament director Laura Robson expressed immense pride in securing the return of one of the greatest athletes in sporting history.

Women’s tennis made a historic return to The Queen’s Club last year, and now we have an icon of the game stepping back on to court at this prestigious venue.

Laura Robson