Serena Williams has announced that she is returning to competitive tennis after nearly four years away from the sport.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion confirmed that she will compete in women’s doubles at the Queen’s Club Championships in London later this month. She will team up with 19-year-old Canadian player Victoria Mboko for the WTA 500 event.
Williams will enter the tournament on a wildcard entry, marking her first official appearance since the US Open in 2022. After that tournament, she stepped away from tennis and said she was “evolving away” from the sport rather than formally retiring.
The 44-year-old shared the news through a social media video showing her on court. The clip included the tagline , “Guess everybody heard the news”, while her phone continued to receive notifications in the background.
Her return comes after she rejoined the tennis drug-testing pool last December, which sparked speculation about a possible comeback. Reports also linked her with training sessions in Florida in recent months.
Williams will begin her return in doubles competition, with the option of playing singles later depending on her schedule and form during the grass-court season.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in tennis history, Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most in the Open era for women. She also won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles alongside her sister Venus Williams, and achieved a career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles.
