'Can't say no': Serena Williams, 44, on return to singles ahead of doubles comeback

Serena Williams, the 23-time women's singles grand slam champion, has accepted a wildcard doubles entry at the 2026 HSBC Championships at Queen's Club, partnering world No. 9 Victoria Mboko. The 44-year-old has not competed since the 2022 US Open, when she announced she was "evolving away" from tennis rather than retiring. She has also signed up to play doubles at the WTA 500 grass-court event in Berlin later this month. As for singles and Wimbledon in sight, Williams stopped short of ruling it out but made clear it is not the plan right now, leaving the door deliberately and tantalisingly ajar.

Is Serena coming back to singles as well?

Speaking at a press conference at Queen's Club on Sunday June 7, Serena revealed the reason for her comeback at 44 and said that winning is not important for her during the return.

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"I don't need to win. 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. I don't have anything to lose, and everything here is just to gain… This whole journey is like I’m putting no pressure on myself. It’s really about my kids getting to see me play. I mean, Olympia [aged eight] is a little bit older, Adira [aged two] is very young, but it’s also still moments like that," she said as reported by the Guardian.

On the question of a singles return, she gave an ambiguous answer. "I can’t say yeah, I can’t say no. Right now, no. I can't say no right now, I feel like I probably need to train a little bit more if I want to play singles, and we will see if I get there, and if not… that's not my journey right now."

Will Seren play at Wimbledon?

Wimbledon begins in late June, which means the window between Queen's Club and the All England Club is narrow but not impossible. Williams won seven Wimbledon singles titles before stepping away, and she has also claimed six doubles titles there — all alongside sister Venus Williams.

Whether Williams seeks a wildcard for Wimbledon singles, meeting for which will start soon, remains to be seen, but given she said the same about Queen's and then committed at the eleventh hour, it would be unwise to assume the answer is no.