Under the late afternoon sun, as the breeze swirled in west London and without an empty seat in sight, Serena Williams returned to a competitive tennis court. By the time the shadow of the prestigious Queen’s Club had crept across the grass, covering the lines, she had secured her first victory in four years. Alongside doubles partner Victoria Mboko, the Canadian teenager 25 years her junior, the 44-year-old Williams defeated the third seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe, 7-6 6-2.
With it, a remarkable tennis comeback was kicked, gently, into motion. The 23-time grand slam champion had not competed since the 2022 US Open, the tournament that followed her announcement of “evolving” away from the sport. When she returned to the glare of competition, with nowhere to hide in front of 9,000 eager fans, there were lots of errors; missed forehands, shanked overheads, and understandable rust. Williams had fun, and even admitted to some nerves, but gave herself a grade of “C minus”, with plenty of room for improvement.
