Williams rolled back the years alongside Canadian teenager Mboko in a 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 win over third seeds Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez at the grass-court tournament in west London.
It was like she had never been away as the 44-year-old produced her trademark thunderous serve and fearsome ground-strokes to the delight of a capacity crowd, including her two young daughters Olympia and Adira and husband Alexis Ohanian.
After appearing to end her glittering career four years ago, the 23-time Grand Slam champion stunned the sporting world on Monday with her shock announcement that she would compete in the Queen’s Club doubles.
Williams’ decision to pick up a racquet in a competitive setting for the first time since losing to Ajla Tomljanovic at the 2022 US Open had sparked questions about the wisdom of her move.
Williams hadn’t played in a tournament since saying she was “evolving away” from tennis in 2022, so inevitably there were signs of rust.
But she delivered a typically combative performance that will intensify questions over a potential return to singles action at Wimbledon, which starts later in June.
“It was so fun. I had so much fun playing with Victoria,” Williams said.
“I never got to play here before, it was always just the men. It feels really special to play somewhere so iconic.
“I had nothing better to do! I got tired of sitting at home. My kids are out of school for the summer, so why not?”
Williams, who will take part in the doubles at the Berlin Open from June 15-21, has not won a Grand Slam singles title since the 2017 Australian Open.
On Sunday, she played down suggestions that she would extend her return to singles competition.
But she has won the Wimbledon singles trophy seven times and the prospect of competing at the All England Club in some capacity will be hard to resist, especially if she continues her run at Queen’s. (AFP)
