U.S. player Serena Williams (L) speaks with Canada’s Victoria Mboko (R) while playing against U.S. player Nicole Melichar-Martinez and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe during their round of 16, doubles match at the HSBC WTA tennis Championships at Queen’s Club in west London on June 9, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AFP
Serena Williams’ much-hyped comeback to professional tennis at the Queen’s Club lasted just one match.
The 44-year-old Williams’ doubles partner, 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko, was forced to withdraw from the draw on Thursday (June 11, 2026) because of a knee injury she sustained in a singles match against Karolina Pliskova in the last 32 on Wednesday.
In her first professional match since the 2022 U.S. Open, Williams teamed up with Mboko to beat third-seeded duo Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe 7-6 (2), 6-2 at the grass-court event on Tuesday (June 9, 2026). They were scheduled to face Leylah Fernandez and Laura Siegemund in the quarterfinals.
Williams is set to play doubles at the Berlin Open in Germany next week. Her partner has yet to be announced.
Williams won 23 Grand Slam singles titles — including seven at Wimbledon — before stepping away from the game, saying at the time she was “evolving” away from tennis rather than “retiring.”
Published – June 11, 2026 06:03 pm IST
