(LONDON) — Serena Williams received a hero’s welcome on Tuesday as she made her first competitive appearance since the 2022 U.S. Open.
Dressed in a pink skirt with matching pink shoes, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion walked onto a packed center court at Queen’s Club in London to loud cheers from fans eager to see the tennis legend back in action.
Queen’s Club, a historic and relatively intimate venue in west London, was filled to capacity for the occasion. By the time Williams stepped onto the court, there was not an empty seat in the house.
Williams, 44, teamed up with Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko, 19, in the first round of the HSBC Championships women’s doubles tournament. The pair faced the No. 3-seeded team of American Nicole Melichar-Martinez and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe.
Despite her lengthy absence from competition, Williams and Mboko battled through a tightly contested opening set before winning the tiebreak 7-2 to take the set 7-6.
Williams stepped away from competition after the 2022 U.S. Open but never formally announced her retirement.
Williams owns 23 Grand Slam singles titles and 14 Grand Slam doubles titles with her sister, Venus Williams. She has also won seven singles and seven doubles titles at Wimbledon.
Her return comes as the grass-court season ramps up ahead of Wimbledon later this month. Williams is also entered in doubles at the Berlin Open, where she is expected to continue her comeback to competition.
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