Serena Williams’ tennis comeback to begin with 19-year-old doubles partner Victoria Mboko

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Victoria Mboko of Canada returns to Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic during their second round women's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

FILE - Serena Williams motions a heart to fans during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sept. 2, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, file) — Victoria Mboko of Canada returns to Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic during their second round women's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Audio By Carbonatix

10:07 AM on Thursday, June 4

The Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Serena Williams will make her eagerly anticipated return to professional tennis playing doubles alongside a partner who is 25 years younger.

Victoria Mboko, the 19-year-old Canadian ranked No. 9, revealed Thursday she would have the “honor” of playing with the 44-year-old Williams as wild-card entries at the Queen’s Club next week.

They practiced on the grass courts in west London on Thursday, with Williams seen hitting balls in a purple top and white pants.

“The Queen is back,” Mboko wrote in a post on Instagram alongside a picture of her standing next to Williams.

“An honor to share the court with one of the greatest athletes of all time this week,” Mboko added. “Even more excited to play doubles together! Tennis is pretty special.”

Speaking at the French Open last week, Mboko said of Williams: “I really look up to her. I mean, the fact that she even knows me is very exciting.”

Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, stepped away from tennis in 2022. She has yet to say whether she plans to play at Wimbledon or the U.S. Open in 2026.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis