June 1 (Reuters) - Serena Williams has become the latest A-list athlete to plan an encore performance with a return to competitive tennis after a nearly four-year absence for the 23-times Grand Slam winner and mother of two.
The 44-year-old received a wildcard entry into the doubles draw at this month's Queen's Club Championships, where British media reported she will play with 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko. She ended months of speculation over a rumoured return with a cheeky social media video
captioned: "Good news travels fast."
"I'm semi-shocked that she's decided to do this at her age after having two kids and what she's accomplished," commentator and retired great John McEnroe said on TNT Sports on Monday.
Williams had announced she was "evolving away from tennis" when she last played at the 2022 U.S. Open, where she received a hero's send-off in a multi-day celebration of her glittering career at the crown jewel of American tennis in New York.
Williams came up short in her bid to capture a 24th major after having her first child, Olympia, in 2017. She gave birth to her second child in 2023, making it appear increasingly unlikely that she would return to competitive tennis.
"She didn't win a major after she had her first kid and I know that was something she wanted to prove she could do and so I'm assuming she was slightly disappointed in not doing that," McEnroe said.
OTHER COMEBACKS
She is not the only top-level athlete with unfinished business, as advancements in training and medical care have allowed for longer careers across several sports.
Seven-times track gold medallist Allyson Felix said earlier this year that she would try to make the U.S. squad in what would be her sixth Olympics. She is aiming to secure a spot on the mixed 4x400 metres relay team at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, despite having previously said that the Tokyo Games would be her last.
"It’s just about testing the limits, kind of an experiment of what's still left there," the 40-year-old Felix, who gave birth to her second child in 2024, told "The TODAY show" last month.
Her fellow American Lindsey Vonn became the oldest downhill skier to win a World Cup race in December, when she mounted a comeback after knee-replacement surgery.
Vonn, whose Milano-Cortina campaign ended abruptly with a horrific crash, was among the first top-level athletes to offer her encouragement to Williams on social media.
In tennis, long-time Williams friend Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark made it to the fourth round at the U.S. Open in 2023 and 2024 during her own comeback campaign, while older sister Venus became the oldest WTA singles match winner since 2004, when she returned from a 16-month absence last year.
"(Serena's) return is an expression of her passion for competition," WTA Chair Valerie Camillo said in a statement on Monday. "I cannot wait to see her face a new generation."
(Reporting by Amy TenneryEditing by Bill Berkrot)
