Serena Williams returning to tennis competition after years away

Serena Williams will return to professional tennis this summer as a doubles competitor the HSBC Championships.

The tournament begins in London at The Queen’s Club on Saturday and it runs through June 21. It is one of the events leading up to Wimbledon, which takes places in July.

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Serena Williams reacts after a point against Danka Kovinic on day one of the 2022 U.S. Open at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., on Aug. 29, 2022. (Robert Deutsch/USA TODAY Sports)

“THE QUEEN RETURNS,” the tournament announced on X. “Serena Williams is BACK & set for doubles at the #HSBCChampionships!”

Williams has been out of tennis since she retired following the 2022 U.S. Open. Over the last year, she re-entered the doping testing pool but denied she was trying to make a return.

All the pushback came to a close on Monday when it was announced she was going to compete in the HSBC Championships.

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Williams met her husband while eating breakfast in Rome. The pair fell in love after going on a six-hour date in Paris.  (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

“Queen’s Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter,” Williams said in a news release. “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.”

Williams is one of the most dominant tennis athletes of this generation. She’s won 23 Grand Slam singles titles and 14 Grand Slam doubles titles. The last doubles title she won was in 2016. She also has three Olympic victories in doubles in her career.

“Serena Williams is one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen, and we’re delighted that she will be making her return to tennis at the LTA’s HSBC Championships,” Women’s Tennis Association Tournament Director Laura Robson said in a statement.

FILE – Serena Williams arrives at the 54th NAACP Image Awards on Feb. 25, 2023, at the Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, Calif.  (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

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“Women’s tennis made a historic return to The Queen’s Club last year, and now we have an icon of the game stepping back on to court at this prestigious venue – it’s very exciting for the tournament and the fans.