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Serena Williams not ruling out a singles return ahead of her doubles
comeback at Queen's Club

   The Associated Press | Posted: June 7, 2026 7:02 PM | Last
   Updated: June 7

   'I'm putting no pressure on myself,' says 23-time Grand Slam
   champion

   Image | 2280294308

   Caption: Serena Williams of the United States trains during a
   practice session ahead of the HSBC Championships at The Queen's
   Club on Sunday in London, England. (Luke Walker/Getty Images
   for LTA)
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   Tennis great Serena Williams is not ruling out a return to
   singles competition but suggested Sunday it's not imminent
   ahead of her doubles comeback in the sport she dominated for
   two decades.
   First up for the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion is the
   doubles tournament at Queen's Club, marking her first
   competitive tennis since the 2022 US Open.
   "I can't say no right now, I feel like I probably need to train
   a little bit more if I want to play singles, and we will see if
   I get there, and if not, that's not my journey right now,"
   Williams said in an eagerly anticipated press conference on
   Sunday.
   Williams will play alongside 19-year-old Canadian Victoria
   Mboko, who is 25 years her junior. Their first match is
   scheduled for Tuesday against third seeds Nicole
   Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe.
     * Serena Williams to partner with Canada's Victoria Mboko in
       return to pro tennis

   The 44-year-old Williams has not competed since bidding
   farewell at the 2022 U.S. Open. At the time, she said she
   didn't want to use the word "retiring" and instead declared
   that she was "evolving" away from tennis.
   Williams, who shares her two daughters with Reddit co-founder
   Alexis Ohanian, revealed that as recently as December she
   believed she "definitely was not" returning to tennis, but,
   after some conversations, thought: "Well, why not? For lack of
   a better explanation.
   "It's summer, the kids aren't in school, so it's a perfect time
   to get out there, have fun, and see what happens."
   Williams won seven Wimbledon singles titles and six at the U.S.
   Open before stepping away from the game. She won 14 Grand Slam
   doubles titles, including six at Wimbledon and two at the U.S.
   Open — all with her older sister Venus Williams.
   She says she is liberating herself of any expectations ahead of
   her comeback.
   "I don't need to win," Williams said. "I've won more than most
   people have in their whole lives, so it's not that important to
   me, and it's important that I keep reminding myself of that,
   because I don't have anything to prove.
   "I don't have anything to lose, and everything here is just to
   gain. This whole journey is like, I'm putting no pressure on
   myself."
   In Mboko, Williams saw something, she said, "that reminded me a
   lot of myself" in her attitude, resilience and drive. After
   making the "pretty 11th-hour commitment" to Queen's, she
   reached out to the Canadian via text message.
     * ‘She texted me': How Victoria Mboko became Serena Williams'
       doubles partner

   Mboko said: "She's hitting great. She has such clean ball
   striking, she could probably take years off, and when she steps
   on the court she could probably find that rhythm again and find
   her timing. So I think that's really a God-given gift that she
   has.
   "I personally think she's ready to go. I'm hitting with her,
   she's hitting pretty big and she's really fit, so we'll see."

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