Tennis stars rejoice as Serena Williams announces competitive comeback | Tennis news

Serena Williams has shaken the tennis world by announcing her competitive return to the sport after an absence of almost four years.

The 23-time Grand Slam winner and mother of two said on Monday she will compete in the women’s doubles at the Queen’s Club Championships in Britain this month, where media reported she will play with 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko.

The 44-year-old American great received a wildcard entry into the competition, which is seen as a warm-up for Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam of the year.

“I’m very happy. Serena and I have kept in touch, which is really nice because I really look up to her,” Mboko said at the French Open last week.

Williams ended months of speculation about a rumored return with a cheeky video on social media captioned: “Good news travels fast.”

‘It will encourage people to watch tennis’

Former world number one Lindsay Davenport said she believes Williams could appear at her home Grand Slam, the US Open, in a few months.

“It seems like she’s trying to work her way up to maybe the U.S. Open, and those fans would love to see her back in singles there,” Davenport said.

Williams won seven Wimbledon titles and six at the US Open before retiring from the game in 2022. In doubles, she won six titles at Wimbledon and two at the US Open – all with her older sister Venus Williams.

Four-time major champion Naomi Osaka, who defeated Serena Williams in the 2018 US Open final for her first major title, was excited about the prospect.

“It will get people to watch tennis,” Osaka said. “I’ll definitely be tuned in for the first match. I think a lot of people do. Everyone knows Serena and Venus were my role models growing up, so it’ll be cool to see her back on the court.”

Osaka was joined by several current players who shared their excitement over the news of Serena Williams’ return.

“She’s a legend. It’s inspiring to see,” top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka said at the ongoing French Open. “I’m excited to see her play and probably face her. … It’s very good news for tennis.”

Coco Gauff, who looked up to Serena Williams growing up, also chimed in.

“One of my biggest regrets was not being able to play against her,” said the world number four.

Gauff also commented on Williams’ Instagram post, saying, “Dreams come true.”

Singles returning to the cards?

Fellow American and former champion John McEnroe suggested Williams could compete in singles at Wimbledon, which starts on June 28.

“She’s not getting any younger, but she’s Serena Williams, so I bet she’d tell me she wants to win the whole damn thing,” McEnroe said in Paris.

The Queen’s Club tournament starts on Monday and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) said Williams will play “with a partner to be announced in due course”.

“Queen’s Club feels like the perfect place to start this next chapter,” Williams said in a statement. “Grass has given me some of the most meaningful moments of my career, and I am excited to compete again on one of the sport’s most iconic stages.”

Davenport said some current women’s players recently traveled to Florida to practice with Williams.

“I don’t think anyone has admitted that, but I know some have,” Davenport said. “So I think she kind of knows where the level is. But I don’t know if she’s played a two-hour singles match, right? We’ll have to see how she can handle that physically.”

Williams, who has won a total of 14 Grand Slam doubles titles in her storied career, became eligible to compete in February after re-enrolling in a mandatory anti-doping program six months earlier – the first step towards a comeback.

Davenport admitted her former opponent would face a tough challenge.

“It won’t be easy. If anyone could do it, it could definitely be her.”

Grand Slam’s social media accounts used more playful language to celebrate her return, using the goat emoji to symbolize her status as the “greatest of all time.”

Williams joins the list of champions making comebacks

Williams isn’t the only elite athlete with unfinished business, as advances in training and medical care have made longer careers in several sports possible.

Seven-time track gold medalist Allyson Felix said this year she would try to make the U.S. team in what would be her sixth Olympics. She is aiming to secure a place in the mixed 4x400m relay team at the Los Angeles Games in 2028, despite previously saying the Tokyo Games would be her last.

“It’s just about testing the limits, a kind of experiment of what’s left there,” Felix, 40, who gave birth to her second child in 2024, told NBC TV’s Today show last month.

Her compatriot Lindsey Vonn became the oldest downhill skier to win a World Cup race in December when she made a comeback after knee replacement surgery.

Vonn, whose campaign for the Milan-Cortina Olympics ended abruptly with a horrific crash, was one of the first top athletes to cheer on Williams on social media.

Vonn and Felix both celebrated Williams’ comeback announcement on social media.

In tennis, Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, a long-time Williams friend, reached the fourth round at the US Open in 2023 and 2024 during her own comeback campaign, while older sister Venus became the oldest WTA singles winner since 2004 when she returned from a 16-month absence last year.

Serena Williams’ return is an expression of her passion for competition, WTA President Valerie Camillo said in a statement on Monday. “I can’t wait to see her in front of a new generation.”