Serena Williams Ends Retirement, to Return to Tennis

Serena Williams is coming back to professional tennis. Four years after announcing she was “evolving away” from the sport she dominated, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion will play the HSBC Championships, the prestigious grass-court warm-up for Wimbledon, as a doubles wild card, the tournament confirmed Monday, June 1.

Her partner will be Canada’s Victoria Mboko, tournament director Laura Robson said on TNT Sports.

Williams has not played since the 2022 U.S. Open. The HSBC Championships, also known as Queen's Club, begin on June 6 in London. Williams is a 14-time grand slam doubles champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist in doubles. Those were titles she won with her sister, Venus.

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

Prior to the announcement, Mboko was asked about playing with the icon Williams, and deflected, saying it was up to Serena to announce anything. But she also acknowledged they have an existing relationship

“Me and Serena have stayed in touch, which is really, really nice, because I really look up to her,” Mboko said at a news conference. “I mean, the fact that she even knows me is very — it’s very exciting.

“She’s my idol, so it’s really cool.”

There has been no indication whether Williams will play Wimbledon, but there is little doubt she would get a wild card from Wimbledon if she wants to play this year. Wimbledon posted a response to Serena's Instagram video annoucing her return.

"Serena back on grass," Wimbledon wrote, with a green heart emoji.