Serena Williams returned to tennis at the 2026 Queen’s Club Championships.
There, Williams and Victoria Mboko won their first-round doubles match against Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez.
How impressed were you with Serena Williams’ level?
A legendary return!
Unfortunately, they were unable to play their quarter-final match, as Mboko suffered a knee injury during singles competition.
Williams will be back on court soon, though, at the Berlin Open, where she will look to pick up another win.
Kim Clijsters doesn’t believe Serena Williams has returned just for ‘the love of the game’
During the latest episode of the ‘Love All‘ podcast, former world number one Kim Clijsters delivered her verdict on Williams’ return.
“She has always been super competitive. She has that competitive mindset; you don’t get to where she is if you don’t have that super competitive mindset,” said Clijsters.
“I am amazed to see she still has that.
“I do not believe that she is just there for the fun of the game.
“It is because she wants to do well.”
Clijsters then shared what she believes ‘triggered’ Williams to return to tennis.
“There were moments like last year at the Open with Venus doing well with Leylah in the doubles, I think those kinds of things triggered it for her a little bit, and just seeing the results that Venus could have,” she said.
Returning to tennis in Washington last year, Venus Williams won her opening singles match, but found her best form at the US Open in doubles.
Playing alongside Leylah Fernandez, Williams reached the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows, her best Grand Slam doubles result since winning Wimbledon with her sister nine years earlier.
Venus Williams and Leylah Fernandez at the 2025 US Open
- 1R [WIN] vs Lyudmyla Kichenok/Ellen Perez, 7-6, 6-3
- 2R [WIN] vs Ulrikke Eikeri/Eri Hozumi, 7-6, 6-1
- 3R [WIN] vs Ekaterina Alexandrova/Zhang Shuai, 6-3, 6-4
- QF [LOSS] vs Taylor Townsend/Katerina Siniakova, 6-1, 6-2
Clijsters continued, sharing whether she believes Williams may play singles.
“I am excited to watch it and see what kind of level she can bring,” she said.
“The interesting thing is looking at how she will react.
“It’s too soon to talk about singles, but there is a part of me that feels this is just the warm-up to see, ‘Can I still play singles?’ because that is going to be the question.
“How good can I move and recover to play a few matches in a row?”
Williams’ fitness wasn’t tested at Queen’s, as she played one doubles match before her partner withdrew.
Perhaps we will see how she copes with playing multiple matches next week in Berlin, playing alongside Karolina Muchova.
Could Serena Williams win Wimbledon?
In singles? Probably not.
Nobody has won a Grand Slam singles title in their 40s, and although Williams is one of the greatest athletes of all time, winning Wimbledon may be a step too far.
She would surely struggle to match the physicality of the top players in the latter stages of the event.
While she could beat lower-ranked players in the early rounds, it’s hard to imagine the 44-year-old beating an Aryna Sabalenka or an Amanda Anisimova in the semi-finals or finals.
Doubles, however, is a different story.
If partnered with the right player, Williams could genuinely challenge for the title this year.
Her serve is still one of the best on tour and her hard-hitting game could mesh well with a younger, more active player.
If Williams were to choose one of the world’s top two doubles players, Katerina Siniakova or Taylor Townsend, she would arguably be the favourite to win Wimbledon.
Whether they would accept her offer is another question.
Doubles number one Siniakova rejected Williams’ offer to play doubles at Queen’s recently.
Only time will tell what the future holds for Williams, but it will certainly be something to keep an eye on.
Wimbledon begins on Monday, June 29.
