Serena Williams is set to make her return to tennis at Queen’s, nearly four years since she last played a professional match.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion will be playing doubles at the WTA 500 event, which is set to begin soon. Williams will be partnered with Victoria Mboko, who is currently ranked ninth in the world.
As for the draw, Williams and Mboko have been given a tough path. In their opening match, they’ll face Caroline Garcia and Maria Sakkari.
The winner of that tie will go on to play either Linda Fruhvirtova or a wildcard pairing consisting of Harriet Dart and Johanna Konta.
Serena Williams faces tough start as Queen’s draw sets up challenging return
Williams and Mboko have a tough opening match at Queen’s, where they will take on Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe. The duo are the third seed at the event, with each having had a superb doubles career to date.
Routliffe is a former doubles world number one, with two Grand Slam doubles titles to her name, both alongside Gabriela Dabrowski.
Melichar-Martinez brings plenty of experience, too. She has 19 WTA doubles titles under her belt and won the mixed doubles crown at Wimbledon in 2018.
However, this tournament will mark their first time playing together as a pair, which could be an important factor for Williams and Mboko to exploit early on.
Serena Williams’ doubles record ahead of Queen’s comeback
Of course, Williams can also look to her own stunning doubles record as she looks to immediately hit the ground running.
Williams has also held the world number one ranking in doubles and has an impressive 23 titles in the format.
All 14 of her Grand Slam doubles titles came with her sister Venus, while she has two mixed doubles trophies alongside Max Mirnyi.
She heads into Queen’s with a career record of 192 wins and 35 losses in doubles and will be looking to improve on that alongside Mboko.
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