Nearly four years after her last competitive match, Serena Williams made a victorious comeback on Tuesday. The 44-year-old returned to competitive action, partnering Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko at the Queen’s Club WTA event.
The pair beat Nicole Melichar-Martinez, Erin Routliffe, 7(7)-6(2), 6-2.
After her win, she was cryptic about a possible return to Wimbledon 2026. “Like I said the other day, it’s just a day at a time. I still have a little time to decide, and they have been great about giving me that space and time to decide,” she said.
She hogged the limelight, and when she walked on court, she was given a huge reception. She entertained the fans with some dominant winners and also reminded them of her serving power.
‘I got nervous right before the match’
Rating her performance, she said, “My God. What do you think? A C-minus?”
“I got nervous right before the match, like, maybe 30 minutes before, and then I just let it go.
“With all the elements, considering coming back on grass is probably not the easiest surface. Overall, it was decent.”
Serena was also playing in front of her daughters. When asked how they reacted to her win, she said, “Adira wanted to go to the toy store, and Olympia wanted to know what was for dinner.”
The pair next face Leylah Fernandez and Laura Siegemund in the quarterfinals. “It feels like it was far from our level a little bit, but I think it’s great knowing that you have so much room for improvement,” Mboko said.
“I mean, overall, I’d say it was pretty good.”
Mboko was also impressed with Serena’s form. She said, “I thought she was moving great.”
“There was that one shot you hit, remember, you were on the run, on the backhand, and I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, she’s got it.'”
At 44, Serena is now the oldest former World No. 1 on the WTA Tour to return after retiring. She overtakes Martina Navratilova, who was 43 when she came back in 2000. She is tied with Stefanie Graf for the longest consecutive reign at No. 1 (186 weeks), and also is the oldest woman to hold the top ranking at age 35. She ranks fourth in the Open Era match wins with 856.
Serena has also entered the doubles draw at the Berlin Tennis Open, which begins on June 15. Her partner has not yet been announced.