Serena Williams admits nerves kicked in before her winning return at Queen’s

By Rachel Steinberg, Press Association

Serena Williams revealed even 23-time grand slam singles champions are not immune to butterflies after confessing the nerves kicked in half an hour before her hotly-anticipated comeback victory at the Queen’s Club in London.

The 44-year-old American and her 19-year-old Canadian doubles partner Victoria Mboko secured a 7-6 (2) 6-2 first-round win over third seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe at the HSBC Championships to mark her first competitive tennis in 1,376 days.

Williams, whose fastest serve hit 120mph, gave herself only a passing grade – a “C-minus”, while her partner, and – at least from the reception – the packed-out crowd at the Andy Murray Arena both disagreed.

“Yeah, I think I was nervous, but I didn’t really think about it. I didn’t really think about being nervous,” said Williams.

“I just thought about having fun, which I did today. So I didn’t really have time.

“I got nervous right before the match, like, maybe 30 minutes before, and then I just let it go.”

Williams, who has also signed up for next week’s Berlin Tennis Open with an as-yet-to-be-determined partner, remained adamant it is premature to be making any decisions about Wimbledon – where she won six doubles titles with sister Venus.

She said: “It’s just a day at a time. I still have a little time to decide, and they have been great about giving me that space and time to decide.”

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The seven-time Wimbledon singles champion joked on court after the victory that she “had nothing better to do” and “got tired of sitting at home”, so she decided to return to the sport she once dominated.

More meaningfully, she said on Sunday the comeback was partially inspired by the prospect of her two daughters, Olympia and Adira, being able to watch her play.

Both children and dad Alexis Ohanian were in attendance on Tuesday evening, though they were perhaps less impressed than the majority present.

Williams said: “Adira wanted to go to the toy store, and Olympia wanted to know what was for dinner.”

The American chose Mboko, the 2025 WTA Newcomer of the Year, in part, she explained on Sunday, because the Canadian teenager reminded Williams of herself.

And it was the younger woman in the pair who encouraged her partner to see her first performance in nearly four years with kinder eyes.

After Williams graded herself with that C-minus, then conceded “grass is probably not the easiest surface” on which to stage a comeback, Mboko said: “Coming back on grass, too. We talked about if it was hard, it might have been a different story.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

Williams conceded: “Overall, I think it was decent.”

Mboko, in a more generous assessment, said: “I thought she was moving great. I mean, there were moments in the match…where I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, she’s got it!’.

The Canadian later added: “It feels like it was far from our level a little bit, but I think it’s great knowing that you have so much room for improvement.

“I think that’s a part of the sport and with the adrenaline and everything, overall, I’d say it was pretty good.”