Washington, June 3:
Serena Williams is coming back to professional tennis at the age of 44, returning to the sport she dominated for two decades before famously “evolving” away from the daily grind of competition.
First up for the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion is the doubles tournament at Queen’s Club. But Wimbledon and the U.S. Open could be next.
“It seems like she’s trying to work her way up maybe to the U.S. Open, and those fans would be so ready to see her back on a singles court there,” former No. 1 Lindsay Davenport said at the French Open after the WTA Tour announced Monday that Williams has accepted a wild-card invitation to play doubles at next week’s grass-court tournament in London.
Williams won seven Wimbledon titles and six at the U.S. Open before stepping away from the game in 2022. In doubles, she won six titles at Wimbledon and two at the U.S. Open all with her older sister Venus Williams.
“She’s a legend. It’s inspiring to see,” top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka said. “I’m excited to see her play and probably face her. … It’s very good news for tennis.”
John McEnroe suggested Williams could compete in singles at Wimbledon, which starts June 28.
“She’s not getting any younger but she’s Serena Williams so I bet you she would tell me about wanting to win the whole damn thing,” McEnroe said in Paris.
The Queen’s Club tournament starts next Monday and the WTA said Williams will play “with a partner to be announced in due course.”
“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.”
Williams has not competed since bidding farewell at the 2022 U.S. Open. At the time, Williams said she didn’t want to use the word “retiring” and instead declared that she was “evolving” away from tennis.
Davenport said some current women’s players went down to Florida to practice with Williams recently.
“I don’t think anyone’s admitted to that, but I do know that some of them were,” Davenport said. “So I think she has kind of a handle on where the level is. But I don’t know if she’s been playing a two-hour singles match, right? We’ll have to see how she can handle that physically.”