After nearly four years away from competitive tennis, Serena Williams returned to the tour, teaming up for the first time with 25-years-younger Victoria Mboko, and the pair secured a straight-sets victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe in the opening round of the HSBC Championships on Tuesday.
The unseeded duo came through a first-set tiebreak before comfortably pulling away in the second set to seal a 7-6(2) 6-2 victory in front of a sellout crowd at the grass-court tournament.
It was an honor to watch you play again👑#HSBCChampionships pic.twitter.com/UVkbrwQ843
— wta (@WTA) June 9, 2026
“She really was able to hold up the team and play big on the big points,” Williams praised Mboko after they reached the quarterfinals. “I could really rely on her.” This is a significant compliment for Mboko, given that Serena is a legend and, throughout her career, has rarely played with anyone other than her sister Venus. Williams added that, despite it being their first time playing together, everything felt very natural on court.
Speaking about her comeback, the 44-year-old mother of two said she was simply bored of doing nothing and saw it as a good way to fill her time:
“I got nothing better to do. I got tired of sitting at home. My kids are out of school for the summer, so why not,” Serena said, as her husband Alexis Ohanian smiled alongside their children in the stands.
In the quarterfinals at Queen’s, Williams and Mboko will face Laura Siegemund and Leylah Fernandez.
