Williams rolls back the years on return at Queen's

Serena Williams rolled back the years at Queen's with a winning performance on her comeback to tennis after 1,375 days away from the sport.

Fans with the hottest ticket in town packed out the Andy Murray Arena on Tuesday evening to watch one of the greatest players of all time return to action.

Playing doubles alongside Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko, the 44-year-old American didn't look a touch out of place as the pair won 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 to upset third seeds Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez.

"It was so fun," she said in her post-match interview. "I had so much fun playing with Victoria. She was really able to hold up the team and play big on the big points. I could rely on her. We have never played together but it felt so natural."

Asked why she came back, she added: "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?

"I never got to play here, it was always just the men. It feels really special to play somewhere so iconic."

Williams "evolved away" from tennis in 2022 after winning 23 Grand Slam singles titles in her 27-year career.

Excitement about a possible return grew last year when her name appeared on the list of players registered for the drug-testing pool, and again when it was put on the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) reinstatements list in February.