Serena Williams returns to professional tennis: first appearance scheduled on the grass of Queen’s Club
Serena Williams will play professional tennis again almost four years after her last official appearance at the 2022 US Open. According to an announcement by the WTA Tour reported by the Associated Press agency, the 44-year-old American has accepted a wild card to compete in the doubles event at the Queen’s Club tournament in London, one of the most important grass-court tournaments in the preparatory part of the season ahead of Wimbledon. The return of one of the most successful tennis players in history immediately attracted great interest because Serena Williams has not played an official match on the WTA Tour since September 2022. For now, the organizers have confirmed her appearance in doubles, while her partner in the draw has not been officially announced. It has also not been confirmed whether, after the London tournament, she will try to compete at Wimbledon, which according to the WTA calendar begins on June 29, 2026.
First official appearance since the emotional farewell in New York
Williams played her last professional match on September 2, 2022, at the US Open, when she lost in the third round to Australian Ajla Tomljanović. According to the official US Open report, the match lasted more than three hours and was then considered her likely farewell to professional tennis. However, Serena Williams at that time did not use the classic wording about retirement. In a text for Vogue, which was later also reported by the International Tennis Federation, she wrote that she was “evolving away” from tennis and that she wanted to turn toward her family, business projects and other life priorities.
That wording left room for different interpretations, and it is precisely now proving important. The return at Queen’s Club does not necessarily mean a full season in singles competition, but it marks the first real interruption of her competitive break. According to the available information, this is an appearance in doubles, a discipline in which Williams has also built an exceptional career. With her sister Venus Williams, she won 14 Grand Slam titles in women’s doubles, and official Olympic data also list four Olympic gold medals in her career. Such a context makes the London return an important sporting event even if it remains limited to only one tournament.
Queen’s Club again at the center of women’s grass-court tennis
The tournament at Queen’s Club is held in London’s West Kensington and traditionally has a special place in the grass-court season. According to official information from the LTA and Queen’s Club, the HSBC Championships 2026 run from June 6 to 21, while the women’s WTA 500 tournament, according to the WTA calendar, covers the period from June 8 to 14. It is a competition played immediately after Roland Garros and before Wimbledon, which is why many players use it to adapt to the grass surface. Grass is precisely one of the surfaces on which Serena Williams achieved her greatest successes.
Williams’s return also fits into the broader return of women’s professional tennis to Queen’s Club. The WTA states that the women’s tournament at that location returned to the calendar at WTA 500 level after more than half a century of absence. The organizers of Queen’s Club recorded that in 2025 the first women’s winner at that tournament since 1973 was Tatjana Maria, which gave the tournament additional historical weight. The arrival of Serena Williams already the following year further raises the visibility of the tournament and confirms the organizers’ ambition for Queen’s Club to be one of the centers of the grass-court tennis season.
The return was hinted at after entry into the anti-doping program
Speculation about a possible return of Serena Williams began to intensify after it was announced that she had again been included in the anti-doping program. According to a Reuters report carried by The Straits Times, the International Tennis Integrity Agency confirmed at the end of 2025 that Williams was in the testing system, which is a necessary step for female and male players who want to become available again for professional competition. At that time, Williams denied on social media that she was planning a return, so her status was interpreted cautiously. The current confirmation of her appearance at Queen’s Club shows that this procedural step nevertheless had sporting significance.
The anti-doping context is important because tennis regulations require athletes returning after a longer break to again be available for testing and to report their whereabouts. This does not mean only formal registration, but also readiness to again accept the obligations of the professional tour. In Serena Williams’s case, that process attracted additional attention because she is an athlete who, after the 2022 US Open, was mostly focused on family, investment projects and public appearances outside competitive tennis. Her return is therefore not only a matter of one wild card, but also a sign that she is ready again to enter the rhythm of professional sport.
Wimbledon remains an open question for now
Although Queen’s Club naturally opens the question of Wimbledon, for now there is no official confirmation that Serena Williams will also play at the All England Club. According to the WTA calendar, Wimbledon 2026 begins on June 29 and lasts until July 12, which means that between Queen’s Club and the third Grand Slam tournament of the season there is enough time to assess physical condition and competitive form. Williams has won seven singles titles at Wimbledon, and with Venus Williams six titles in women’s doubles, so every decision of hers connected with London grass is followed especially closely. However, for now only her appearance in doubles at Queen’s Club has been confirmed.
Caution is understandable because returning after almost four years without an official match is extremely demanding, especially at the level of professional tennis. Doubles can be a logical first step because they require a different physical rhythm from singles competition, but they still demand quick reactions, competitive endurance and a high level of coordination. According to the available information, the draw for Queen’s Club has not yet been announced, so possible opponents and the schedule of her first match are not known. It is precisely the first appearance that will give the clearest answer to the question of how ready Williams is for a more serious continuation of the grass-court season.
Reactions confirm how great her influence on tennis is
According to the Associated Press report, the news of Serena Williams’s return was welcomed by numerous people from tennis, including Martina Navratilova and current players such as Naomi Osaka, Coco Gauff and Madison Keys. WTA Tour president Valerie Camillo, according to the same report, emphasized that an athlete whose influence goes beyond results on the court is returning. Such reactions are not surprising because Williams was one of the most recognizable figures in world sport for more than two decades. Her style of play, athletic power, mental toughness and ability to repeatedly win the biggest tournaments significantly changed the perception of women’s tennis.
The return also has a generational dimension. Many current players grew up watching her greatest victories, while at Queen’s Club they could face her for the first time in an official professional setting. This is a rare situation in sport: a legend who defined one era appears again at a moment when a new group of players is at the top. Such an encounter does not change only the sporting draw, but also the interest of the public, the media and sponsors. The organizers of Queen’s Club already have one of the most followed moments of the grass-court season, and that is before the tournament has even begun.
A career that changed the standards of women’s tennis
The official WTA profile states that Serena Williams won 73 singles titles and spent 319 weeks at world number one. The Olympic portal states that she has 23 Grand Slam titles in singles competition, 14 Grand Slam titles in women’s doubles and two in mixed doubles. Her 23 singles Grand Slam titles are the most in the Open Era of women’s tennis, and only Margaret Court has won more singles Grand Slam titles in overall historical statistics. Williams won her last singles Grand Slam at the 2017 Australian Open, while she won her last WTA singles title in Auckland in 2020, according to WTA data.
Her career was not important only because of trophies. Williams, together with Venus Williams, changed the way people talk about power, speed and aggression in women’s tennis. Their matches and doubles appearances opened space for a new generation of players who grew up with a different model of top-level professionalism. Serena Williams at the same time became a global sporting and cultural figure, and her statements about motherhood, health, equality and business ambitions often went beyond the framework of sports sections. That is why her return interests not only the tennis public, but also the broader sports audience.
What can be expected from the doubles appearance
The doubles appearance at Queen’s Club could be a carefully chosen entry point for a return. In doubles it is possible to distribute effort differently than in singles, but at the same time the game is faster at the net and every reaction error can be decisive. Serena Williams has rich experience in that discipline, especially from the period of dominance with her sister Venus, but competitive tennis after a break of several years brings different challenges. Grass additionally emphasizes the serve, the first shot and short points, which could suit her, but it also requires very precise movement. Therefore Queen’s Club will be the first practical test of her current readiness.
For the organizers and the WTA, Williams’s return means exceptional media attention in a week in which the women’s grass-court season is just gaining momentum. For her opponents, it means an opportunity to share the court with a player who shaped the era of modern tennis. For Williams herself, according to everything confirmed so far, it is a new chapter that is for now limited to doubles in London. Whether it will later turn into a broader return, including Wimbledon or other tournaments, is currently not officially confirmed. For now, it is certain only that one of the greatest tennis players of all time will again appear in an official draw, and on the surface on which she achieved some of the most important moments of her career.
Sources:
- Associated Press – confirmation of Serena Williams’s return to professional tennis and her appearance in doubles at Queen’s Club (link)
- WTA – official profile of Serena Williams and statistical data about her career (link)
- WTA – calendar and official information about the HSBC Championships 2026 tournament in London (link)
- LTA – official guide to the HSBC Championships 2026 at Queen’s Club (link)
- Queen’s Club – history of winners and context of the return of the women’s tournament (link)
- US Open – official review of Serena Williams’s last match against Ajla Tomljanović in 2022 (link)
- ITF – reported statement by Serena Williams about “evolving away” from tennis and the context of the 2022 decision (link)
- The Straits Times / Reuters – information about Serena Williams re-entering the anti-doping testing program (link)
- Olympics.com – overview of Serena Williams’s Grand Slam and Olympic achievements (link)