Serena Williams to partner Karolina Muchova for Berlin Open comeback
Serena Williams will partner world number 10 Karolina Muchova in the women’s doubles at next week’s Berlin Open as she continues her return to professional tennis.
The 44-year-old recently ended a four-year absence from the sport by making a winning start at Queen’s Club alongside Victoria Mboko.
However, the newly formed pair were forced to withdraw from their quarter-final tie after her Canadian partner suffered a nasty fall during a separate singles match.
Now, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion turns to a highly rated Czech international to continue her grass-court preparations.
Muchova relishes dream partnership
The 29-year-old expressed immense pride at receiving the invitation from one of the sport’s greatest ever competitors.
“I’m pretty excited about it. It doesn’t happen every day that such an amazing athlete, not only in tennis but overall in sport, asks you to play tennis with her,” Muchova said.
“I hope it’s going to be fun.”
The current world number 10 possesses solid pedigree on grass, having twice reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in the singles draw.
Mboko sidelined for Wimbledon
Meanwhile, Mboko’s promising grass-court season has come to an abrupt and unfortunate halt.
A medial collateral ligament injury sustained against Karolina Pliskova means the youngster will miss the upcoming Championships at SW19.
“Unfortunately, my fall on Wednesday caused an injury to the MCL in my left knee,” Mboko explained.
“I had been so looking forward to playing this year.”
Despite the frustrating setback, the injured star remained positive about her brief stint alongside the returning American icon.
“I learned so much from you and I’m sorry our tournament came to an end prematurely, but I hope we can play together again soon and finish what we started,” she added.
