Serena Williams is officially returning to professional tennis. The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion will play doubles next week at the HSBC Championships at Queen's Club in London, the tournament confirmed on social media. It will be her first competitive match in nearly four years.

Williams, 44, has not played a professional match since the 2022 US Open, when she lost to Ajla Tomljanović in the third round. She never officially announced her retirement at the time. Instead, she famously said she was "evolving away from tennis." The HSBC Championships are due to start June 6 in London.

The return has been in motion for longer than fans realized. Per CNN, Williams quietly re-entered the compulsory anti-doping testing pool late last year. She completed the required six-month testing period, making her officially eligible to compete on the WTA Tour as of February 22, 2026. The International Tennis Integrity Agency listed her on its roster of reinstated players that same day.