Serena Williams' Queen's Club Comeback Ends Early as Doubles Partner Mboko Withdraws Injured

A Promising Return Cut Short

Serena Williams' much-anticipated return to competitive tennis at Queen's Club has come to an abrupt end, with her doubles partner Victoria Mboko forced to withdraw from the tournament after suffering a knee injury. The Canadian teenager had limped off court in tears on Wednesday during her singles match against Karolina Pliskova, eventually conceding with the scores standing at 6-2, 3-4 in the second set — a blow that now puts her wider Wimbledon preparations in serious doubt.

A Bright Start Before the Setback

The withdrawal is a bitter pill to swallow given how well the pairing had started. Williams and Mboko turned heads in the opening round, sweeping past third-seeded duo Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 in what was the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion's first competitive appearance since the 2022 US Open. It was, by any measure, an encouraging return — Williams moving with purpose and the partnership clicking almost immediately. The second-round match against Leylah Fernandez and Laura Siegemund, scheduled for Friday, will now not take place.

Berlin Beckons as Williams Pushes On

Disappointing as the Queen's exit is, Williams has wasted no time in keeping her comeback momentum going. She has confirmed her entry into the Berlin Tennis Open, which gets under way on 15th June and is live on Sky Sports Tennis. Her doubles partner for that event is yet to be confirmed, though the announcement itself signals that Williams is deadly serious about this grass-court return. "Every tournament I add to my schedule right now feels special, and Berlin is no exception," Williams said via the tournament's official channels. "I'm excited to compete in front of the German fans and continue building momentum throughout the grass-court season."

The Bigger Picture for Wimbledon

With Wimbledon on the horizon, the burning question is whether Williams will seek a singles wildcard or focus solely on doubles at the All England Club. At 44, her return to the sport has captured global attention in a way that few sporting comebacks manage to sustain, and Queen's — even in its truncated form — offered a genuine reminder of the quality she can still produce. The crowd response at the Roehampton venue was reportedly electric during her first-round doubles match, and there is every reason to believe the same scenes would greet her at SW19.

For Mboko, the concern is more immediate. The 19-year-old had shown real promise on the grass before her injury, and any prolonged absence would be a setback for a player widely regarded as one of Canada's brightest young tennis talents. The severity of the knee issue remains unclear, though the manner in which she left court on Wednesday suggested she will need time to recover before attempting to compete again.

What to Watch Next

If you want to follow Williams' Berlin campaign, Sky Sports Tennis carries the event live from 15th June, also available via Sky Sports+, NOW, and the Sky Sports app. It promises to be one of the more compelling subplots of the grass-court swing regardless of how far she progresses — and given what we saw at Queen's before injury intervened, do not be too quick to write off her chances in the doubles draw.

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