For the first time in nearly four years, Serena Williams will take the court at a WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz tournament.

The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion will make her highly anticipated comeback at this week’s HSBC Championships, where she’ll play doubles with Victoria Mboko.

Here’s everything you need to know about Serena’s highly-anticipated return, and how to watch all the action.

When and where is Serena coming back?

Williams has received a wild card into the doubles draw at the grass-court HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club, in London. 

Teaming with Mboko, they’ll play third-seeded Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe in the first round on Monday.

“Queen’s Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter,” Williams said after announcing her return. “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.”

Serena is one of the most accomplished doubles players of all-time. She won 22 doubles titles with Venus Williams, including a perfect 14-0 record in Grand Slam finals. 

Queen’s Club is one of the few tournaments that Williams has never played, as it returned to the WTA calendar in 2025 for the first time in more than 50 years.

“Me and Serena have stayed in touch, which is really, really nice, because I really look up to her,” Mboko said at Roland Garros last week. “I mean, the fact that she even knows me is very — it’s very exciting. … She’s my idol.”

Mboko added that during her hiatus from tennis, Serena watched her play and would send occasional text messages of support. Now they’ll share the court together.

Where can fans watch Serena’s return?

Fans in the United States can watch Williams’ return at the HSBC Championships on Tennis Channel, with live coverage of the tournament available throughout the week. To see the full Tennis Channel schedule, click here.

In the United Kingdom, Williams’ return will be broadcast throughout the week on BBC platforms. Early-round coverage airs daily on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. local time, with semifinal and final coverage moving to BBC One. Check out the full BBC schedule here.

Viewers outside the United States and United Kingdom can check local listings for the WTA’s international broadcast partners. Match schedules, scores and daily order of play will also be available on wtatennis.com and the WTA app.

For a breakdown of how to watch Serena’s comeback by region, click here and select your location. 

When was the last time she played?

The 73-time singles champion’s last singles match was back in 2022, in front of a boisterous crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium at the US Open. After beating Danka Kovinic and second-seeded Anett Kontaveit in the first two rounds, Williams’ career concluded (until now) with a 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-1 loss to Ajla Tomljanovic.

She also played doubles that week, with Venus, losing 7-6, 6-4 to Linda Noskova and Lucie Hradecka in the first round.

What is the historical perspective of her comeback?

At 44 years old, Williams is now the oldest former World No. 1 on the WTA Tour to return after retiring. She surpasses Martina Navratilova, who was 43 when she came back in 2000.

The mom of two girls is tied with Stefanie Graf for the most consecutive weeks at No. 1 (168), has the most Grand Slams and singles titles, is the oldest woman to rank No. 1 (35 years old) and has the fourth-most wins in the Open Era (856). She’s also the all-time leader in prize money on the WTA Tour, earning more than $94.8 million in her career.

Williams’ doubles match at Queen’s Club comes 31 years after her first WTA match, when she was just 14. She lost to American Annie Miller in qualifying in Quebec City. Four years later she was a Grand Slam champion.

Serena’s notable head-to-heads against current players

Though Serena has been out of action since 2022, she has history with a good number of today’s top players. Here’s a breakdown of some of her notable head-to-heads.

Venus Williams 

Serena leads 19-12

In addition to their tremendous success as doubles partners, Serena and Venus also share a storied history across the net from each other.

Serena has a 7-2 advantage in Grand Slam singles finals, including four straight wins from the 2002 French Open to the 2003 Australian Open.

Here’s hoping we get one more Serena-Venus classic.

Naomi Osaka

Osaka leads 3-1

Naturally, the match that comes to mind is Osaka’s 6-2, 6-4 upset in the 2018 US Open final. It was Osaka’s first Grand Slam, and in doing so she became the first Japanese player in tennis history to win a major singles title.  

Serena won their next match the following year, in Toronto, but Osaka beat her in the 2021 Australian Open semifinals en route to the title.

Elina Svitolina

Serena leads 5-1

After four straight wins over Svitolina, the first of which came way back in 2012, the World No. 7 finally beat Serena at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. They met again three years later in New York, and Williams won comfortably to advance to the US Open final.

Bianca Andreescu

Andreescu leads 2-0

Speaking of that US Open final, it was against 15th-seeded Andreescu, then just 19.

In the moment of her career, the Canadian defeated Williams 6-3, 7-5 to win her first major title and deny Serena her 24th. This was Williams’ final Grand Slam singles final.

Jessica Pegula

Serena leads 1-0

Serena’s only match against Pegula is surely one she’ll never forget. (Nor will Pegula, for that matter.) It came in Auckland, in January of 2020, and Williams beat Pegula 6-3, 6-4 in the final to win her 73rd and final (until now, perhaps) WTA singles title.

Aryna Sabalenka

Serena leads 1-0

The former World No. 1 (for 319 weeks) and the current World No. 1 met once, at the 2021 Australian Open, and it didn’t disappoint. After splitting the first two sets, Williams prevailed 6-4 in the third to advance to the quarterfinals in Melbourne. 

We know Sabalenka would love another opportunity to play the living legend – and we’d all love to see it.

What will the rest of Serena’s season look like?

That’s still to be determined, but we do know that Serena won’t be one and done at Queen’s Club. She’ll also play doubles at the Vanda Pharmaceuticals Berlin Tennis Open the following week (June 15-21), with a player yet to be announced.

“Every tournament I add to my schedule right now feels special,” Williams said, “and Berlin is no exception. I’m excited to compete in front of the German fans and continue building momentum throughout the grass-court season.”

It will be Serena’s first time playing Berlin.