Serena Williams should be pleased about what has happened at Roland Garros this year ahead of her return.
Williams is returning to tennis at the Queen’s Club Championships, nearly four years after she played her last match at the 2022 US Open.
There are a lot of questions about how the 44-year-old’s level will be, with Williams playing doubles alongside Victoria Mboko to start her return at Queen’s.
It is unclear as to whether Williams will play singles on grass this year, but she should be encouraged about her chances in doubles after what has happened at Roland Garros.
Serena Williams should be happy about Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos winning Roland Garros
Williams is a 14-time Grand Slam champion in women’s doubles and she has also won two titles in mixed doubles as well.
However, with Williams now being 44 years old and it being nearly four years since her last match, there are questions about how she will compete on tour now.
How excited are you to watch Serena Williams play on the WTA Tour once again? 🐐
Those questions will remain until her first matches, but doubles results at Roland Garros suggest that Williams can still cause damage on the doubles court.
The men’s doubles title at Roland Garros was won by defending champions Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, who are 40 and 41 years old, respectively.
This is not a rarity in both men’s and women’s doubles, with many former top singles players competing in doubles at the latter stages of their career, highlighted by Granollers, who reached a career-high singles ranking of world number 19 in 2012.
Although Williams’ movement may be in question ahead of her return, she is still able to hit the ball as well as any player in women’s tennis, and in doubles her physicality will be much less of a factor.
Although many will want to see her play with older sister Venus, Serena has made a smart decision to play with a younger player like Mboko, with the Canadian teenager having great court coverage.
Serena Williams has been given a tough draw in her return match at Queen’s
There are a lot of positive signs ahead of Williams’ return to competition alongside Mboko, but they have been handed a very tricky opener at Queen’s.
Williams and Mboko will play third seeds Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez in the first round, in what could be a challenging opener for the American in her comeback.
Who would you like to see Serena Williams play doubles with if she returns?
Routliffe and Melichar-Martinez are also a scratch pairing, so Williams and Mboko may need to try and take advantage of a potential slow start from their opponents.
Williams and Mboko will also need to utilise the crowd support they will receive at Queen’s, as they will clearly be the big fan favourites in London.
The Queen’s Club Championships will get underway on Monday, June 8, as Williams looks to make her highly anticipated comeback to the WTA Tour in style.
