Serena Williams is set to make a surprise return to competitive tennis after nearly four years away from the sport, accepting a wildcard entry for the women’s doubles event at Queen’s Club later this month.
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The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion will partner Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko at the WTA 500 tournament, which begins on 8 June in London. The appearance will mark Williams’ first competitive match since the 2022 US Open, ending an absence of 196 weeks from the tour.
Williams, now 44, stepped away from tennis in 2022, saying she had “evolved away” from the sport following one of the most successful careers in history. Speculation about a possible comeback emerged last year when her name appeared in the sport’s anti-doping testing pool. Those rumours intensified after she was listed among player reinstatements by the International Tennis Integrity Agency in February.
On Monday, Williams appeared to confirm the news through social media, posting a video of herself walking onto a tennis court alongside the message: “Guess everybody heard the news.” Another accompanying post read: “Good news travels fast.”
In a statement, Williams said Queen’s Club was the ideal venue for her return.
“Queen’s Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter,” she said. “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.”
Partnership with Rising Star
Williams will team up with 19-year-old Victoria Mboko, one of the brightest young talents in women’s tennis. Mboko, who has rapidly risen through the rankings, recently reached the third round of the French Open before losing to former Australian Open champion Madison Keys.
The Canadian has previously described Williams as her idol, making the partnership one of the most talked-about stories ahead of the tournament.
Wimbledon Questions Emerge
Williams’ return is likely to fuel speculation about a potential appearance at Wimbledon, which begins three weeks after Queen’s. The seven-time Wimbledon singles champion would require a wildcard to enter the tournament.
Her record on grass is among the strongest in the sport’s history, with seven singles and seven doubles titles at the All England Club.
Former world number one John McEnroe suggested a Wimbledon singles return could be the next step.
“If Serena Williams is the greatest of all time and is coming back, she's not coming back because she's happy to play,” McEnroe told TNT Sports. “She wants to win another major.”
One of Tennis’ Greatest Careers
Williams retired with 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the highest total in the Open era and second only to Margaret Court’s 24 major championships in women’s tennis history.
She spent 319 weeks ranked world number one and won 73 WTA singles titles. Alongside her sister Venus Williams, she captured 14 Grand Slam doubles crowns and three Olympic doubles gold medals, in addition to her singles gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics.
Williams also achieved a career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles, winning every Grand Slam title and Olympic gold during her career. Even after becoming a mother in 2017, she returned to reach four Grand Slam finals and re-enter the world’s top 10.
Her comeback at Queen’s will provide one of the most anticipated moments of the grass-court season and could signal a remarkable new chapter in an already historic career.
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Adapted by ASEAN Now. Compiled from various sources. 2 June 2026
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