(Photo credit: GREG LOVETT/PALM BEACH POST / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Serena Williams will make her return to professional tennis this week in a comfortable environment.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion will compete alongside 19-year old Canadian Victoria Mboko in the doubles draw to kick off the WTA's grass campaign at the HSBC Championship at Queen's Club in west London.

Even though all surfaces were kind to the 44-year old Williams, the grass at nearby Wimbledon was especially, well, special. She won seven singles and six doubles championships (all with sister Venus) at the All England Club from 2000-2016.

Williams stepped away from the sport following the 2022 U.S. Open, but re-enlisted in tennis' anti-doping testing program late in 2025, fueling wide-spread speculation about her return.

Now the speculation is all about her commitment to singles' competition. In a news conference on Saturday, she made it clear the answer is a resounding yes.

'I feel like I'm probably going to train a little bit more. I want to play singles and we'll see if I get there and if not, that's not my journey right now,' said Williams.

'The biggest thing I missed is just the atmosphere. You don't really think about how much you love things when you stop something. It's these different things that I can try to experience in a different way that I've never been able to do before. And also do it with my family.'

Since stepping away, Serena welcomed her second daughter, Adira, who will turn three years old in August. Alexis, who accompanied Serena in her last few years on tour, will be nine in September.

Williams and Mboko will take on New Zealand's Erin Routliffe and American Nicole Melichar-Martinez, who are seeded third.

Their practice sessions have gone well, and according to Mboko, Williams was 'hitting pretty big' and looked 'really fit.'

'Growing up, Serena has always been my idol in a way,' said Mboko, who captured her national (Canadian) Open in 2025. 'I just remember watching her on TV and her matches so many times.

'She has such clean ball striking. She could take years off and when she steps on the court, she could probably find that rhythm again in no time.'

Williams is entered as a wild-card in the doubles at the Berlin Open, which begins on June 15.

Wild cards have not been announced for Wimbledon, which starts June 29, so it remains to be seen whether Williams will don the white kit for the third Grand Slam of the year.

The questions will persist until the draw is announced.

'When the news came out a lot of people were asking me about it and stuff like that,' Williams said. 'But I'm just playing doubles. I still want to be competitive and want to do very well.'

--Field Level Media