Serena Williams returns to professional tennis today at Queen’s Club, partnering Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko in the doubles draw of the HSBC Championships.
A comeback four years in the making
Williams, 44, has not competed since the 2022 US Open, a hiatus of nearly four years. She enters the WTA 500 grass-court event via a wild card, choosing a surface that has been the most successful of her career – particularly at Wimbledon, where she has won seven singles titles. The American, who has previously described her departure from tennis not as a retirement but as an “evolution,” rejoined the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s International Registered Testing Pool in December 2025, sparking speculation about a return. At the time she denied any immediate plans, posting on X: “Omg yall I’m NOT coming back.”
No pressure, nothing to prove
Williams has been emphatic that this comeback is driven by the love of the game rather than any desire to add to her trophy cabinet. “I don’t need to win,” she said. “I’ve won more than most people have in their whole lives, so it’s not that important to me, and it’s important that I keep reminding myself of that, because I don’t have anything to prove.” She added: “I don’t have anything to lose, and everything here is just to gain.”
The 23‑time Grand Slam singles champion – the most in the Open Era – has also cited her children, Olympia and Adira, as a key motivation, wanting them to see her play. “I miss it a lot, with all my heart … because I’m healthy,” she has said previously of the sport. The return marks a continuation of what Williams has long framed as an “evolution” away from tennis rather than a clean break, a transition she outlined in an essay for Vogue in August 2022. “I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family,” she wrote at the time.
Match details and how to watch
Williams and Mboko will face the experienced doubles pairing of Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez in the round of 16 on Andy Murray Arena. The match is scheduled to begin at 5.30pm BST as the final contest of the day. Routliffe, a former world No.1 in doubles and two‑time US Open champion, teams up with Melichar-Martinez, a Wimbledon mixed doubles champion whose career‑high doubles ranking is No.6.
Mboko, 19, is currently world No.9 in singles and was named the WTA Revelation of the Year in 2025 after winning two WTA Tour singles titles, including a WTA 1000 at the Canadian Open where she defeated Naomi Osaka in the final. She is coached by former world No.3 Nathalie Tauziat.
In the UK, the tournament is being broadcast live on BBC One and BBC Two, with women’s coverage running from 1pm BST on BBC Two through to 6pm from Tuesday to Friday. Saturday’s action moves to BBC One from 1.25pm to 5.15pm, and Sunday’s final follows the same slot. TV licence holders can also stream via the BBC iPlayer and website. In addition, the Tennis Channel is reportedly the only UK broadcaster showing all of Williams’ matches live.
The Queen’s Club Championships, owned and operated by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), returned as a women’s event in 2025 after a 52‑year absence. The women’s tournament runs from June 8 to 14, with the men’s event following from June 15 to 21. The prize money for the women’s tournament is the second highest for a WTA 500 event globally.
Williams’ career achievements include a record‑four Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year awards, the Career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles, 14 Grand Slam doubles titles with her sister Venus, and four Olympic gold medals. She held the world No.1 ranking for 319 weeks, finishing as year‑end No.1 five times, and is the oldest No.1 in WTA history. With career earnings exceeding $94 million, she remains the highest‑earning female athlete of all time.
