Serena Williams to Make Tennis Comeback, Nearly 4 Years After Stepping Away

Ending a nearly four-year absence, 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams will officially make her return to competitive tennis.

On Monday, tournament organizers confirmed that Williams, 44, will compete in the doubles event at the Queen’s Club HSBC Championships in London—which is held on outdoor grass courts—marking her first official match since her appearance at the U.S. Open in 2022.

“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.”

The event runs from June 8–14.

The athlete further teased the announcement on social media, sharing a video of herself walking off a tennis court as her phone buzzed repeatedly before saying: “Guess everybody heard the news,” with the caption “Good ​news travels fast.”

Williams was awarded a “wild card,” otherwise recognized in the sport as an invitation given by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 500 event, and will be partnering up with 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko.

“Serena is one of the greatest athletes of all-time, with a legacy that extends far beyond the court,” said WTA Chair, Valerie Camillo, in a statement. “Her return is an expression of her passion for competition, and I cannot wait to see her face a new generation of top players.

“Serena is not just a great champion. She’s a successful entrepreneur, a powerful advocate for the issues that matter—and one of the most iconic women in the world,” she continued.

“We are thrilled to welcome her back to the WTA Tour at this hugely exciting moment for women’s tennis.”

In 2002, Williams was 20 when she first rose to World No. 1, where she spent 319 weeks atop the rankings, the third-highest total in women’s tennis history. She also shared a record streak of 186 consecutive weeks at No. 1, while capturing 73 WTA singles titles during her career.

Beyond her singles success, Williams won 22 of her 23 titles in a doubles partnership alongside her sister, Venus Williams. Together, they won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles without losing a single major final.

She is the only player, male or female, to complete a Career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles, meaning she won each of the four Grand Slam titles: Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open, as well as an Olympic gold medal.

In 2017, she became the oldest woman to hold the world No. 1 ranking, and also the highest-earning woman in sports history, collecting more than $94 million in prize money during her career.

In August 2022, without fully embracing the word “retirement,” Williams announced in a personal essay for Vogue that she would be “evolving away from tennis,” citing a transition focused on family and other business ventures.

Williams has two daughters—Olympia, 8, and Adira, 2—with her husband, internet entrepreneur and investor Alexis Ohanian, co-founder and former executive chairman of Reddit.