Serena Williams Returns To Tennis After Four-Year Absence
Follow on Google News
Serena Williams is set to make her long-awaited return to competitive tennis after nearly four years away from the sport, having accepted a wildcard entry for the women’s doubles event at Queen’s Club later this month.
The former world number one will feature at the WTA 500 tournament, which gets underway on 8 June in London. While organisers have yet to officially confirm her partner, reports indicate she is expected to team up with Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko. Williams, 44, stepped away from tennis in 2022 after a remarkable career that yielded 23 Grand Slam singles titles.
Speculation over a comeback had been building for months. Her name appeared in the sport’s anti-doping testing pool last year before she was later listed among player reinstatements by the International Tennis Integrity Agency in February.
Earlier today, June 1, Williams appeared to confirm the news herself, posting a video on social media as she walked onto a tennis court. The clip carried the caption: “Guess everybody heard the news”, accompanied by another message that read: “Good news travels fast.”
Williams said: “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.”
Her appearance at Queen’s will come 196 weeks after her last competitive match at the 2022 US Open. The tournament also offers a potential glimpse of what could follow, with Wimbledon beginning just three weeks later. Williams would require a wildcard to compete at the All England Club, where she has won seven singles and seven doubles titles.
Williams remains one of the most decorated players in tennis history. She spent 319 weeks as world number one, claimed 73 WTA singles titles and captured 14 Grand Slam doubles crowns alongside her sister Venus Williams. The pair also won three Olympic doubles gold medals, while Serena added an individual Olympic gold in London 2012.
Since retiring, Williams has largely remained outside the sport while focusing on family life and business ventures. She welcomed her second daughter in 2023 and has spoken publicly about her fitness journey, including significant weight loss and training for a half-marathon.
