Serena Williams coming out of retirement to compete in Queen's doubles

[p]The 44-year-old [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/williams-serena/ttsu68nH/"]Williams[/a], a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, has not played since a third-round loss at the 2022 US Open.[/p][p]Williams posted the message, [b]"Good news travels fast" [/b]along with a video of her on court in an all-white Nike tennis dress and with her phone buzzing rapidly in the background.[/p][embed guid="6b3b1ba8-be4f-4727-95b5-43e660c9b5ea" url="https://x.com/serenawilliams/status/2061447936563638388?s=46" social-type="twitter" /][p]Her imminent return has been touted since it was revealed in December she had re-entered the anti-doping programme - a prerequisite to play on the tour again.[/p][p]The American has been given a wildcard for the women's doubles at Queen's, reportedly alongside young Canadian [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mboko-victoria/AqVez8TJ/"]Victoria Mboko[/a].[/p][p][b]"Queen's Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter,"[/b] said Williams.[/p][p][b]"Grass has given me some of the most meaningful moments of my career, and I'm excited to be back competing on one of the sport's most iconic stages."[/b][/p][p]The women's event at Queen's starts on June 8.[/p][embed guid="0e71e9b0-10cb-4f76-8b27-395149018f04" url="https://x.com/QueensTennis/status/2061468233115316658" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"Serena Williams is one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen, and we're delighted that she will be making her return to tennis at the LTA's HSBC Championships,"[/b] said WTA tournament director Laura Robson.[/p][p][b]"Women's tennis made a historic return to the Queen's Club last year, and now we have an icon of the game stepping back on to court."[/b][/p][p]Williams said in 2022 she did not want to use the word "retiring" but instead explained she was "evolving" away from tennis.[/p][p]The American's 23 Grand Slam singles titles are the most by a woman in the Open era and put her second on the all-time list in the women's behind Australian Margaret Court's tally of 24.[/p]