Tennis legend Serena Williams made a triumphant return to the courts on Tuesday, with a big assist from Canadian rising star Victoria Mboko.
The 44-year-old Williams and the 19-year-old Mboko teamed up to beat New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States 7-6 (2), 6-2 in a doubles first-round match at the HSBC Championships grass-court tennis tournament in London, England.
Williams received a rousing ovation from the fans at The Queen’s Club in West London when she took the court against the third-seeded duo for her first competitive match in over four years.
The 23-time singles Grand Slam champion, who also won 14 major doubles titles with her sister Venus, served for the match and set up match point with an ace.
“I feel very honoured to play with Serena,” Mboko said in an on-court interview, standing next to Williams. “I had a lot of fun, if anything. We really did that out there. I’m so happy to be playing beside you. And we’re going for more.”
Mboko, who has already entered the top 10 in the rankings at No. 9, made an impression on her legendary partner.
“It was so fun. I had so much fun playing with Victoria,” Williams said. “She really was able to hold up the team and really play big on the big points. I could really rely on her. We’ve never played together, but it just felt so natural playing with her.”
Later, though, Williams gave herself a modest grade in her post-match news conference.
“A C-minus,” Williams said. “With all the elements, considering coming back on grass is probably not the easiest surface. … Grass, four years. Overall, I think it was decent.”
WATCH | Serena Williams, Mboko victorious in Queen’s Club opener:
Serena Williams victorious in her return with Canadian doubles partner Victoria Mboko
Perhaps more than decent, given the quality of the opposition. Routliffe is a two-time U.S. Open champion in doubles with Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski, and Melichar-Martinez has made the doubles final at both Flushing Meadows and Wimbledon.
Mboko was clearly impressed.
“I thought she was moving great,” said Mboko. “There was that one shot you hit, remember, you were on the run, on the backhand, and I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, she’s got it.”‘
Routliffe, who has played with several partners this year after she and Dabrowski ended their successful partnership after last season, was seeded third with Melichar-Martinez at Queen’s Club.
Williams and Mboko, from Burlington, Ont., will next face Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., and Germany’s Laura Siegemund, who advanced to the doubles second round with a 6-2, 2-6, 11-9 win over Russia’s Alexandra Panova and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands.
WATCH | ‘She texted me’: How Mboko became Williams’s doubles partner:
‘She texted me’: How Victoria Mboko became Serena Williams’ doubles partner
Fernandez formed a fan-favourite duo with Venus Williams last year, and the pair made a run to the U.S. Open quarterfinals.
Earlier, Fernandez was eliminated from singles competition with a 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5 loss to Britain’s Katie Boulter.
Fernandez, the eighth seed at The Queen’s Club in West London, was up a set and tied 3-3 in the second when the match was suspended Monday night due to darkness.
Boulter shook off the disruption when the match resumed to win a competitive second set.
Fernandez fought back from a break down in the third set, but her service game faltered again with the set tied 5-5 as Boulter regained the lead. The Briton then served out for the win.
Boulter will next face Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian.
It was the first meeting between the players in a WTA Tour main draw. Boulter defeated Fernandez in qualifying at the 2018 Canadian Open in Montreal, and Fernandez returned the favour in qualifying at the 2023 Citi Open in Washington.
Williams is also set to play doubles at the Berlin Open in Germany next week. But even after a winning return, she remains undecided when it comes to whether to extend her comeback to Wimbledon, which starts June 29.
“It’s just a day at a time,” Williams said. “I still have a little time to decide, and they have been great about giving me that space and time to decide.”
Williams had 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 won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, including seven at Wimbledon, before stepping away from the game. She also added 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, including six at Wimbledon — all with her older sister Venus Williams.
