Serena Williams gets a doubles win in her first professional match in almost four years
-
Click here to listen to this article - Share via
See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search. Set us as preferred
- Serena Williams makes a triumphant return at the Queen’s Club, teaming with 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko for a 7-6 (2), 6-2 doubles win in her first match since 2022.
- The 44-year-old unleashed serves up to 120 mph and praised her teenage partner’s poise.
- Williams, who formally retired in 2022 before reentering tennis’ drug-testing pool last year, has wildcard doubles spots in London and Germany.
Serena Williams is back.
And so is her blistering serve.
After almost four years away from the sport, the 44-year-old tennis legend made a triumphant return Tuesday at Queen’s Club in London. She teamed with Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko for a 7-6 (2), 6-2 victory against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand in an opening doubles match at the grass-court HSBC Championships.
Serena Williams, who recently announced her return to professional tennis, has added another stop to her comeback tour: the Berlin Open.
Williams recorded service winners of up to 120 mph during her first professional match since the 2022 U.S. Open.
“It was so fun,” Williams said afterward in an on-court interview. “I had so much fun playing with Victoria. She really was able to hold up the team and really play big on the big points. I could really rely on her. We’ve never played together, but it just felt so natural playing with her.”
Williams has won 14 Grand Slam titles and three Olympic gold medals in doubles, all with sister Venus Williams as her playing partner.
“I feel very honored to play with Serena,” Mboko said. “I had a lot of fun, if anything. We really did that out there. I’m so happy to be playing beside you. And we’re going for more.”
In September 2022, Williams had registered as retired with the International Tennis Integrity Agency.
Billie Jean King, 82, received her bachelor’s degree in history from the same school she attended more than 60 years ago and also gave a commencement speech.
Last December, however, Williams reentered the agency’s drug-testing pool, a move that led to speculation about a possible return for the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion. She announced her professional tennis return last week as a wild-card doubles entry at the Queen’s Club tournament.
Days later, Williams was added to the 16-team doubles field at Germany’s WTA 500 event.
“I had nothing better to do,” Williams said Tuesday. “I got tired of sitting at home. My kids are out of school for the summer, so why not?”
