Serena Williams' Queen's Club return ends after doubles partner withdraws

LONDON: Serena Williams' return to competitive tennis at Queen's Club was cut short on Thursday after her doubles partner Victoria Mboko withdrew from the tournament with a knee injury.

Williams had made her comeback on Tuesday, playing her first match in four years, and she and Mboko beat Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe in straight sets in the opening round. The pair had been scheduled to face Leylah Fernandez and Laura Siegemund in the quarter-finals of the grass-court tournament in west London.

That match did not go ahead after Mboko pulled out only hours before the last-eight tie. The 19-year-old Canadian was unable to recover from a left knee problem sustained during the second set of her singles match against Karolina Pliskova on Wednesday. Mboko, ranked world number nine, slipped on court and was unable to complete the match.

Mboko was visibly distressed after the injury, which forced her into the splits, and she was heard telling physiotherapists "there is no stability right now"

Mboko then decided against playing the doubles match in order to avoid worsening the injury. Tournament organisers confirmed her withdrawal, bringing an early end to Williams' brief Queen's Club campaign.

Williams to wait for next step in comeback

Williams is now expected to continue her return at next week's Berlin Open doubles event. She is reportedly set to team up there with Karolina Muchova, while she has still not decided whether to extend her comeback to Wimbledon.

Williams has not yet said if she will play any singles tournaments during her unexpected return. Earlier this week at Queen's, she said she had not ruled out appearing in the Wimbledon doubles. Because her ranking is not high enough for direct entry, she would require a wildcard from tournament organisers to play at the All England Club.

The American won seven Wimbledon singles titles and also claimed six doubles crowns there with her sister Venus. Speaking on Tuesday about a possible Wimbledon appearance, Williams said "They have been great about giving me that space and time to decide,"

Comeback drew wide attention

Williams' first match back came 1,375 days after her previous appearance and drew strong interest across the sporting world after a four-year retirement. She said her decision to return was motivated by a wish to play in front of her daughters, Olympia and Adira, who were courtside for Tuesday's win.

Her comeback marked her first competitive outing since her defeat to Ajla Tomljanovic at the 2022 US Open. The move had prompted debate about whether returning was the right decision, but in Tuesday's doubles match Williams showed the power on serve and from the baseline that defined her career.

Even so, she said she was not fully pleased with her display. Asked to assess her performance, Williams said "Oh my god! What do you think? A C minus?"

She added

All the elements, considering coming back on grass is probably not the easiest surface. On the grass, four years.. Overall I think it was decent.