Serena Williams will return to tennis alongside Victoria Mboko at the Queen’s Club Championships.
Competing in the doubles event, Williams and Mboko will take on Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe.
Former Australian doubles star, Rennae Stubbs, will coach Williams at Queen’s and any other grass-court event she plays this year.
What do you think Serena Williams needs to do to make her comeback successful?
Before Williams’ first match in 1,375 days, Stubbs shared how she has looked in training and what Mboko told her recently.
Rennae Stubbs says Victoria Mboko told her she was ‘exhausted’ after first warm-up with Serena Williams
During the latest episode of ‘The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast‘, the Aussie recalled what Mboko told her after her first training session with the 23-time Grand Slam champion.
“She said to me, ‘Man, when we did that first warm-up, I was exhausted, and she was like, no problem’. I was thinking that’s the standard,” said Stubbs.
“The standard is that Serena [Williams] is all about not missing a ball in the net for the first five minutes of practice; that is the rule.
“She sticks by that every day.
“It’s interesting to see how players lock in immediately, and Serena’s standard is very high when it comes to that.”
Stubbs continued, highlighting the one problem with Williams choosing Queen’s as her first tournament back.
“The only bummer about this week is that the weather is going to be a little dicey,” she said.
“There is going to be a bit of rain; we have already had a bit and have been hitting quite a bit indoors, so we have not had a ton of time on grass.
“But the one thing is that Serena is comfortable on grass and moves well on it.
“I will tell you this: today we were practicing, and she threw in a couple of serve and volleys, and she was like ‘this is hard, serving and volleying is exhausting!’ She goes I am just going to stay back here!”
Stubbs has been impressed by Williams in training, but is more than aware of the challenges that lie ahead.
“She is just such a pure hitter of the ball. It’s so clean. I said to her today when she hit this one volley, which was semi-awkward, and I just looked and started laughing and said, ‘You’re so f—— strong’. Her forearm and the way she can hit a forehand volley. Obviously, I would take my volleys over most people, but her strength in her forearms and her ability to be able to time the ball is still so beautiful,” she said.
“We will see. She is going to be nervous. Vicky [Mboko] will be nervous. Everyone will be watching and hoping it goes okay and we have no injuries or soreness.
“They have a tough draw; they play against two doubles players. So we will see.
“I am excited to see her back. I know the crowd is going to be excited to see her play.
“I can guarantee you the girls will have some fun.”
Williams and Mboko will play their first-round doubles match at the Queen’s Club Championships on Tuesday, June 9.
However, having been scheduled last on Centre Court, and with rain forecast, there is a strong chance their match is pushed back to Wednesday.
What are Serena Williams’ plans for Wimbledon?
Stubbs gave a brief update on Williams’ Wimbledon plans.
“She is maybe going to play mixed at Wimbledon; we haven’t decided on a partner, we don’t know,” said Stubbs.
Williams surely won’t have much trouble finding a partner if she does choose to play mixed doubles at SW19.
24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic would arguably be the most exciting choice, although it’s unlikely he would risk tiring himself for the singles event.
She could also ask several American tennis stars, like Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, or Ben Shelton.
All three are more than capable on grass, and would surely jump at the opportunity to team up with one of the greatest players of all time.
The 2026 Wimbledon Championships begin on Monday, June 29.
