Serena Williams confirms her tennis comeback at Queen’s next week aged 44

Serena Williams has announced her sensational return to professional tennis at 44 years old next week at the Queen’s Club in London.

Williams will return to competition with a wildcard in the women’s doubles draw at Queen’s, a WTA 500 event in its second edition. She has not competed in the last four years since retiring from tennis at the US Open in 2022. Williams is a 23-time grand slam singles champion, the women’s open-era record, and a 14-time doubles champion. She is the only player to win the career golden slam in singles and doubles.

In a statement, Williams said: “Queen’s Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter. 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.”

Williams has been planning to compete in doubles alongside Victoria Mboko, the Canadian player ranked No 9 in singles. Mboko commented on Williams’ potential return last week at the French Open: “I’m very happy. Me and Serena have stayed in touch, which is really, really nice, because I really look up to her. I mean, the fact that she even knows me is very exciting.

“I think for me I want to kind of let the moment for her. I feel like if she’s ready to come back on her own terms, then I feel like it’s up to her to announce that, but other than that, I can’t really -- I don’t really have much to say.”