Serena Williams Announces Tennis Comeback Nearly Four Years After Retirement

Serena Williams celebrating a point on court during the 2022 US Open, wearing her custom black sparkling tournament dress. Photo credit: Serena Williams/Instagram

Hold onto your rackets, because the greatest of all time is stepping back onto the court! Tennis legend Serena Williams has officially announced her highly anticipated return to professional tennis. Nearly four years after she famously announced she was “evolving away from tennis” at the 2022 US Open, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion is back to reclaim her throne on the grass courts.

The monumental announcement came via a sleek Nike video showing Serena walking across a tennis court as her phone rings off the hook with breaking news. In the video, she deadpans, “I gotta change my number,” as the text “Guess everybody heard the news” flashes across the screen. The sports world certainly heard it loud and clear, sending shockwaves of excitement from Lagos to London.

Serena Williams walking off the court carrying a sports bag as a stadium crowd stands and cheers at the 2022 US Open. Photo credit: Serena Williams/Instagram

Serena is officially set to make her competitive comeback next week after accepting a doubles wildcard invitation for the HSBC Championships at the prestigious Queen’s Club in London. The grass-court tournament, a WTA 500-level event, begins on June 6 and serves as a major warm-up ahead of Wimbledon.For her big return to the stage, Serena will be partnering up with Canadian tennis star Victoria Mboko.

Expressing her excitement about the upcoming London tournament, Serena stated: “Queen’s Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter. 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.”