{"id":2364,"date":"2026-06-01T15:42:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T15:42:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2364"},"modified":"2026-06-01T15:42:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T15:42:25","slug":"serena-williams-is-returning-to-pro-tennis-at-age-44-after-nearly-4-years-away-from-the-sport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2364","title":{"rendered":"Serena Williams is returning to pro tennis at age 44 after nearly 4 years away from the sport"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FILE – Serena Williams, of the United States, returns a shot to Anett Kontaveit, of Estonia, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Aug. 31, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo\/John Minchillo, File)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

PARIS \u2014 Serena Williams<\/a> is returning to professional tennis<\/a> at age 44 after nearly four years away from the sport.<\/p>

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The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion has accepted a wild card invitation to play doubles at the upcoming Queen\u2019s Club grass-court tournament in London, the WTA Tour announced Monday.<\/p>\n

Williams also made a post on social media<\/a> with the caption, \u201cGuess everybody heard the news.\u201d The post had a video with her phone ringing, during which she said, \u201cI gotta change my number.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Queen\u2019s Club tournament starts next Monday and the WTA said Williams will play \u201cwith a partner to be announced in due course.\u201d<\/p>\n

A return on grass will raise speculation that Williams also plans to compete at Wimbledon, which starts June 28. She\u2019s won seven singles titles at the All England Club.<\/p>\n

Williams has not competed since bidding farewell at the 2022 U.S. Open<\/a> . At the time, Williams said she didn\u2019t want to use the word \u201cretiring\u201d and instead declared that she was \u201cevolving\u201d away from tennis.<\/p>\n

\u201cSerena brought the game to another level and it is incredible for the sport that she\u2019s pushing the boundaries and coming back,\u201d said Martina Navratilova, the previous oldest former No. 1 to launch a comeback, at 43 years, 10 months.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo many of the younger players, they never had the opportunity to play her; some may have never watched her on television so this will be a new and exciting experience,\u201d Navratilova said.<\/p>\n

Williams, who has also won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, became eligible to compete in February<\/a> after re-registering with tennis\u2019 mandatory anti-doping program six months earlier \u2014 which is the first step toward a comeback.<\/p>\n

Four-time major winner Naomi Osaka<\/a> , who beat Williams in the 2018 U.S. Open final for her first major title, was excited at the prospect.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will bring people to watch tennis,\u201d Osaka said Thursday at the French Open. \u201cI\u2019m going to be tuned into the first match, for sure. I think a lot of people are. Everyone knows Serena and Venus were my role models growing up, so it\u2019s going to be cool to see her on the grounds again.\u201d<\/p>

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Williams recently posted a video on Instagram showing herself training<\/a> on a hard court with her daughter: \u201cRumor has it\u2026I got a new trainer,\u201d Williams said in the post.<\/p>\n

Williams\u2019 second daughter was born in 2023.<\/p>\n

When it was revealed last year that Williams had signed up to return to the drug-testing pool, she wrote on social media: \u201cOmg yall I\u2019m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my biggest regrets was not being able to play her,\u201d defending French Open champion Coco Gauff<\/a> said in Paris. \u201cIt would be cool for this sport to have a legend back playing.\u201d<\/p>\n

American player, Iva Jovic, 18, also sounded thrilled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s amazing. It\u2019s really cool,\u201d she said. \u201cI have never seen Serena in real life. Obviously I grew up watching her. In my entire childhood she was dominating tennis, so it\u2019s going to be incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Osaka, she thinks it will boost tennis in general.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to make a lot of headlines and it\u2019s something that people are going to talk about,\u201d Jovic said.<\/p>\n

Added fellow American player Madison Keys, \u201cSerena Williams playing tennis is only good for tennis. Let\u2019s be real. We all want to watch Serena play tennis.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, you literally get to watch history every single time she takes the court,\u201d Keys added. \u201cSo why not watch more?\u201d<\/p>\n

WTA chair Valerie Camillo said that \u201cSerena is one of the greatest athletes of all-time, with a legacy that extends far beyond the court.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer return is an expression of her passion for competition and I cannot wait to see her face a new generation of top players,\u201d Camillo added. \u201cSerena is not just a great champion. She\u2019s a successful entrepreneur, a powerful advocate for the issues that matter \u2013 and one of the most iconic women in the world. We are thrilled to welcome her back to the WTA Tour at this hugely exciting moment for women\u2019s tennis.\u201d<\/p>

Read more French Open chief Mauresmo backs human judgment after Ruud line-call controversy<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP tennis: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/tennis<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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