It’s official: Serena Williams is returning to professional tennis after four years away.
The news came Monday (June 1), with Williams set to compete in the doubles event at the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club in London this month.
“Good news travels fast,” reads the caption of a video subsequently shared to Instagram by Williams and Nike. In the clip, the 23-time Grand Slam singles titles winner is heard remarking “I gotta change my number” as her phone erupts with message notifications.
“Queen’s Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter," Williams added in a statement on Monday, per the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). “Grass has given me some of the most meaningful moments of my career, and I’m excited to be back competing on one of the sport’s most iconic stages.”
Back in 2022, Williams, now 44, said in an essay for Vogue that she was “evolving away from tennis,” though she expressed hesitance, at the time, in fully embracing “retirement” as a descriptor for what she aimed to do.
“There is no happiness in this topic for me,” she said at the time, referencing the exits of Ashleigh Barty and Caroline Wozniacki as examples of other tennis stars who, unlike herself, achieved a sense of peace with the idea of outright retirement. “I know it’s not the usual thing to say, but I feel a great deal of pain. It’s the hardest thing that I could ever imagine. I hate it. I hate that I have to be at this crossroads. I keep saying to myself, I wish it could be easy for me, but it’s not. I’m torn: I don’t want it to be over, but at the same time I’m ready for what’s next.”
In tandem with Monday’s comeback announcement, Valerie Camillo, Chair of the WTA, praised Williams, who is widely cited as the best women’s tennis player in history, for “a legacy that extends far beyond the court.”
Per Camillo, Williams’s return stands as “an expression of her passion for competition” that will see her facing “a new generation” of talent.
“We are thrilled to welcome her back to the WTA Tour at this hugely exciting moment for women’s tennis,” Camillo added.
