by Francis Alkhaybey, Face2FaceAfrica.com
erena Williams made headlines on Monday when she announced that she’ll be making her professional tennis comeback at the Queen’s Club tournament next week.
Williams, 44, will reportedly be competing in the tournament’s women’s doubles, though she’s yet to announce her partner, PEOPLE reported. But a Monday report from The Athletic stated that Queen’s Club tournament director Laura Robson said Williams and 19-year-old Canadian tennis prodigy would be doubles partners at the tournament.
During a press conference after her second-round win at the French Open last week, Mboko, who was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Congolese parents, showered praise on her potential doubles partner when she was asked about the report.
“I’m very happy,” Mboko said. “Me and Serena have stayed in touch, which is really, really nice, because I really look up to her. The fact that she even knows me, it’s very exciting.”
Mboko currently resides in Burlington, Ontario, and she represents Canada. Her singles career has seen her amass 151 wins and 60 losses so far. She is also a two-time singles tournament champion. Her doubles career record currently stands at 22-23.
Williams has not played a match since the US Open in 2022, when she did not exactly say that she was retiring but said she was “evolving away” from tennis. The following year, she gave birth to her second daughter.
In January this year, when she was asked on The Today Show if she would likely return to tennis, she said, “I don’t know.”
“I’m just gonna see what happens.”
“That’s not a maybe,” she added. “I have two kids, I’m a full-time stay-at-home…When I filled out a form the other day [for] occupation…housewife.”
On Monday, Williams, in a statement, explained that the “Queen’s Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter.”
“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,” she also said.
The Queen’s Club tournament runs June 8-14 in London.
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