Serena Williams’ Queen’s Club Comeback Halted As Partner Mboko Withdraws

Serena Williams’ hopes of marking her return to competitive tennis with a doubles title at Queen’s Club ended abruptly earlier today, June 11, after her partner, Victoria Mboko, withdrew from the tournament through injury.

Naija News reports that Williams made a stunning comeback on Tuesday, stepping onto a professional court for the first time in four years. Teaming up with the Canadian teenager, the American great secured a straight-sets win over Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe in the opening round.

The pair had been scheduled to face Leylah Fernandez and Laura Siegemund in the quarter-finals of the grass-court event in west London. However, Mboko pulled out just hours before the match after failing to recover from a left knee injury sustained during her singles defeat to Karolina Pliskova on Wednesday.

The world number nine slipped on the grass during the second set and was unable to complete the match. The 19-year-old was visibly distressed after the incident, which forced her into an awkward split position.

“There is no stability right now,” Mboko was heard telling physiotherapists following the fall.

Choosing not to risk worsening the injury, Mboko withdrew from the doubles event, bringing Williams’ Queen’s Club campaign to an unexpected close.

Tournament organisers later confirmed the withdrawal, leaving Williams to focus on the next stage of her comeback at next week’s Berlin Open.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion is expected to partner Karolina Muchova in Berlin as speculation continues over a possible appearance at Wimbledon.

Williams has yet to confirm whether she will compete in singles during her return, though she has not ruled out entering the Wimbledon doubles draw. A wildcard would be required for her participation at the All England Club because her current ranking is insufficient for direct entry.

Speaking earlier this week, Williams said Wimbledon officials had given her time to make a decision.

“They have been great about giving me that space and time to decide,” she said.

Asked on Thursday whether Williams would be offered a wildcard if she wanted one, Wimbledon chief executive Sally Bolton stopped short of giving a definitive answer.

“I can’t answer that question, but I guess what I can say is we can all see how much excitement Serena being back on a tennis court and particularly on a grass court has created and so one can only imagine what that would be like at the Championships,” he said.

“The wild card committee will formally make their decisions next week and we’ll be communicating those, but she has certainly created a fantastic buzz and that’s exciting for the sport.”

Williams’ return after 1,375 days away from competition has captivated the sporting world. The seven-time Wimbledon singles champion revealed that a desire to play in front of her daughters, Olympia and Adira, helped inspire her comeback.

Questions had been raised about whether returning after four years in retirement was the right move. Yet Williams showed flashes of her best form in Tuesday’s victory, producing the powerful serve and aggressive groundstrokes that defined her career.

Even so, the former world number one was not entirely satisfied with her display.

“Oh my god! What do you think? A C minus?” Williams said when asked to assess her performance.

“All the elements, considering coming back on grass is probably not the easiest surface. On the grass, four years… Overall I think it was decent.”