LONDON (AP) 鈥� After nearly four years away from professional tennis, Serena Williams made a winning return at Queen鈥檚 Club on Tuesday.
The 44-year-old Williams showed she still has plenty of her trademark power, hitting service winners of up to 120 mph as she teamed up with 19-year-old Canadian to win their opening doubles match at the grass-court tournament.
Williams and Mboko beat third-seeded duo Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe 7-6 (2), 6-2 in Williams鈥� first professional match since the 2022 U.S. Open. To punctuate that she’s back, Williams served out the match with two aces followed by a service winner.
鈥淚t was so fun. I had so much fun playing with Victoria,鈥� Williams said in an on-court interview. 鈥淪he really was able to hold up the team and really play big on the big points. I could really rely on her. We鈥檝e never played together but it just felt so natural playing with her.鈥�
Mboko is one of the rising stars on the WTA tour, having already entered the top 10 in the rankings at No. 9.
鈥淚 feel very honored to play with Serena,鈥� Mboko said, standing next to the 23-time Grand Slam winner. 鈥淚 had a lot of fun, if anything. We really did that out there. I鈥檓 so happy to be playing beside you. And we鈥檙e going for more.鈥�
Williams last week to doubles, but has yet to decide whether to target a comeback in singles as well.
___
AP tennis:
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
