With each passing day, the talk around Serena Williams’ return to tennis feels more grounded.
The American, who retired after the 2022 US Open, will be eligible to play competitive tour-level matches again on February 22nd.
Williams has now spent six months in the anti-doping testing pool – a requirement for any player seeking reinstatement.
Patrick Mouratoglou, her former coach, recently said he would be surprised if the 23-time Grand Slam champion actually returned to professional tennis.
Now Victoria Mboko has weighed in on those rumours as well.
Victoria Mboko shares thoughts on possible Serena Williams comeback
Mboko knocked Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina, the second seed, out of the Qatar Open in three sets.
She also responded when asked if she had been following any of the talk around Williams’ return, saying: “Yeah, I’ve been seeing it around my social media where it says she’s coming back.
“I feel like it’s never really confirmed until she says it’s confirmed. That would be pretty cool for the sport. She’s a legend. She’s such a household name.
“I mean, if I were to ever play her, that would be a really great experience, and that would be really fun.”
Their careers did not overlap and Mboko never got to play against Williams.
Victoria Mboko advances to Qatar Open semi-finals, sets up meeting with Ostapenko
With victories over both Rybakina and Mirra Andreeva among her four wins so far at the Qatar Open, Mboko has made her way into the semi-finals.
She will face Jelena Ostapenko next, who has also had a solid run in the Middle East and has only lost one set in Doha so far. This will be the first time these two players meet.
The other semi-final match-up will see Maria Sakkari take on 14th seed Karolina Muchova.
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