Much to the delight of tennis fans around the world, Serena Williams will return to the spotlight for the 2026 grass-court season.
Williams, 44, hasn't competed in a professional match since her loss to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the 2022 US Open. It was revealed in December of 2025, however, that she reentered the registered testing pool for the International Tennis Integrity Agency.
It wasn't until this week that TNT broke the news that Williams will team up with world No. 9 Victoria Mboko for doubles at the Queen’s Club Championships. Apparently, that's not the only event on her calendar.
Williams has confirmed that she'll also play doubles at the Berlin Tennis Open later this month.
"Every tournament I add to my schedule right now feels special, and Berlin is no exception," Williams said. "I'm excited to compete in front of the German fans and continue building momentum throughout the grass-court season."
© Geoff Burke-Imagn Images.
Will we see Serena at Wimbledon?
For what it's worth, Wimbledon issued a statement on Williams competing in Berlin.
"Back on the German grass," Wimbledon wrote. "Serena Williams will be playing @berlin_tennis, 13-21 June. The Berlin Tennis Open is part of Wimbledon’s strategic investments in the grass court season to create a world-class grass court swing that gives players the best possible preparation ahead of Wimbledon."
It sure sounds like the All England Club is willing to extend a wildcard to the 23-time Grand Slam champion.
All we can say for now is that Williams is ready to make some noise on the WTA Tour.
"I’m honest, I don’t know how her form is. What I will tell you is she can not hit for four months and she’ll come out and grab a racket and running shoes and just hit the ton out of the ball without ever hitting. It’s incredible," Venus said. "The quality of her stroke is obviously there. She’s, I think, a little bit of a natural. She has a pretty good record. She knows what she’s doing. She’s pretty tenacious. So I’m not worried about how she’s going to play even though I haven’t really seen her play."
