Serena Williams is back on the grass courts, and her return is already making headlines. After stepping away from the sport nearly four years ago, the 44-year-old legend decided to test her skills once again at the 2026 HSBC Championships. 

Williams teamed up with World No. 9 Victoria Mboko to defeat No. 3 seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe 7-6(2), 6-2 to mark a comeback. The match took place on June 9, 2026.

The 23-time Grand Slam singles winner, along with Mboko, pushed past their opponents in the Round of 16 doubles clash at the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club. For Williams, this victory was her first professional win in 1,376 days.

Williams had not played a single professional match since the 2022 U.S. Open. As highlighted in a June 9 report by Devdiscourse, the 44-year-old has never confirmed her departure from the sport.

This game was also her first-ever appearance at Queen’s Club. The newly formed pair started strongly in the first set. Williams and Mboko took a commanding 3-0 lead. The experienced opponents eventually broke serve to force a tiebreak.

In those deciding moments, Mboko delivered a serve to help secure a 7-6(2) set win. The duo easily moved ahead and built a 3-1 lead, then won the second set 6-2. 

After the match, Williams spoke about how much she enjoyed the new partnership.

She made sure to note that Mboko “held the team together.” Williams joked about her own performance, grading herself a “C-minus” and admitting she needed to make more returns next time. 

She also called the experience of playing at Queen’s Club special. The chemistry of Williams and Mboko hinted that something bigger is on its way.

A Partnership That Might Create Something Bigger

Victoria Mboko is a 19-year-old Canadian rising star and currently the world No. 9 in singles. Williams reached out to her to suggest forming this partnership. This was their first time playing together on any court.

Serena Williams' successful comeback arrives in the middle of the busy grass season ahead of Wimbledon, a tournament she has a history with. 

She holds 7 Wimbledon singles titles and 6 doubles titles. However, she has not committed to playing at Wimbledon just yet. 

She stated that she is taking it one day at a time. However, she has already entered another doubles event in Berlin next week.

The pair will now be up against Leylah Fernandez and Laura Siegemund in the quarterfinals on June 11, 2026. 

Williams proved that she could still compete and command global attention. Do you think this partnership will pull off a grass-court title?

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Written by

Utsav Sinha

Edited by

Surjo Ray