Tennis fans across the globe are looking forward to seeing legend Serena Williams back in action, following a confirmation by Queen’s Club that the star will return to the court in the doubles competition at the HSBC Championships next week.

Williams, 44, never officially announced her retirement, but it’s been almost four years since her last match.
Late last year, though, the 23-time grand slam singles champion started taking steps toward a possible return to action.

“Queen’s Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter,” Williams said in a statement on the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) website.

“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.”

Williams last played in 2022, when she lost in the US Open to Australia’s Ajla Tomljanović. At the time, she did not use the word “retirement,” instead saying she was “evolving away from tennis.”

The HSBC Championships are due to start in London on June 6 with women’s qualifying. The women’s main draw will then begin on June 8.

Williams is set to feature in the doubles tournament, but it’s not yet clear who her partner will be.

Until now, there had been no official confirmation that the American would be returning to the sport that she dominated for so many years. But there were signs.

In December 2025, her name appeared on a list on the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s (ITIA) website showing players registered in the international testing pool. The document was dated October 6, 2025.