Serena Williams, 44, making a comeback four years after playing last match? Here's what we know
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Serena Williams, 44, making a comeback four years after playing last match Photograph: (AFP)
Serena Williams, 44, is set to return to tennis at Queen's Club doubles on June 8 with partner Victoria Mboko, nearly four years after her last match at the 2022 US Open. Players including Osaka, Keys and Gauff have welcomed the comeback with excitement.
Serena Williams, 44, might not just be done with professional tennis yet. The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion is considering a return to elite tennis on the grass courts of Queen's Club in London, with the WTA 500 event beginning on June 8, a day after the French Open ends. The appearance would mark Williams's first competitive tennis match since the 2022 US Open. Crucially, the path is now legally clear. Williams quietly re-entered the compulsory anti-doping testing pool last year and has since completed the required six-month testing period, granting her official eligibility to compete on the WTA Tour.
Is Serena Williams making a comeback at 44?
The Served podcast, hosted by former world No. 1 Andy Roddick and veteran journalist L Jon Wertheim, reported that Williams will seek a doubles wildcard alongside Victoria Mboko, the 19-year-old Canadian who is currently ranked number nine in singles. Tournament organisers hold two available doubles wildcard slots, allowing them to easily accommodate the 44-year-old, and tour rules additionally allow special wildcard entries for former world No. 1 players and grand slam champions.
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There has been ample speculation about Williams's possible return and she has been training in Florida for months, working with Alycia Parks, the world number 79, who posted a video of them hitting together in March. As for her last competitive appearance, Williams lost what was expected to be the final match of her career to Ajla Tomljanovic 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-1 in the third round of the 2022 US Open.
At the time, she deliberately avoided the word retirement, saying instead she was "evolving away from tennis," leaving the door open for a comeback which now seems to be materializing. Roddick also predicted Williams will eventually transition back to singles, possibly as early as this year's Wimbledon.
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How are other players reacting to Serena's potential comeback?
Naomi Osaka, speaking at the French Open after her second-round win, was ecstatic about Serena's potential return and said: "I don't really care about tennis. I think it's good for me. I'll be very entertained. I think it will bring people to watch tennis, which she always does bring an audience with her. So I think it's good. I'm going to be tuned into the first match, for sure. Everyone knows Serena and Venus were my role models growing up, so it's going to be cool to see her on the grounds again."
Coco Gauff added: "I did say one of my biggest regrets was not being able to play her."
