Serena Williams is set to make her return to competitive tennis this week, teaming up with Canadian teenage tennis star Victoria Mboko in doubles at the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club in London.
Ahead of her first match, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion said she is approaching the tournament with a different mindset than she did during her playing career.
Serena Williams set to return to tennis at Queen’s Club Championships
“I don’t need to win. I’ve won more than most people have in their whole lives,” Williams told reporters at a news conference on Sunday.
“So for me… that is not important to me,” she continued. “It’s important that I keep reminding myself of that because I don’t have anything to prove, I don’t have anything to lose. And everything here is just to gain.”
Williams said she had not been planning a return when asked about a social media post from December in which she indicated she was done playing.
“In December, I definitely was not, and then was just talking to a few people… chatting about different possibilities of just having fun,” she said.
“I was like, ‘well, why not?’ For a lack of a better explanation,” she added.
The tennis legend said one motivation behind the comeback is giving her daughters, Olympia and Adira, the chance to see her compete.
“For me right now… it’s really about my kids getting to see me play,” Williams said.
When asked whether she could return to singles competition in the future, Williams said she is focused on doubles for now.
“I feel like, I probably need to train a little bit more if I want to play singles and we’ll see if I get there, and if not, that’s not, that’s not my journey right now,” she said.
Williams will partner with Mboko, whom she praised for both her talent and determination.
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“What I like the most about her was that the next time she played, she still kept winning,” Williams said. “I love that, you know? It reminded me a lot of myself.”
Williams and Mboko are scheduled to face the No. 3-seeded doubles team of Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe on Tuesday.
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