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FIFA World Cup 2026 scheduleWilliams gets best of Kiwi in return to professional tennis
Glenn Moore, AAP •  June 10th, 2026 7:32 am
Serena Williams | Photo: AAP
Four years after she last picked up a racquet in anger Serena Williams has made her return to professional tennis, and for much of the afternoon at Queen's Club in London it was like she had never been away.
Pairing up with Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko the 44-year-old served powerfully and delivered some stunning returns as the duo beat third seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Kiwi Erin Routliffe 7-6 (7-2) 6-2.
In front of her daughters Olympia and Adira the 23-time grand slam singles champion received a rapturous reception in early evening sun by a home crowd already cheered by English successes.
Williams last played professionally at the US Open in September 2002, going out to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round in New York in front of more than 20,000 people - a night the Australian has said she'll always remember.
The 151-world ranked Inglis had scrapped her way through qualifying, scoring a victory over world No.81 Alycia Parks on the way, but found the Romanian too strong despite a second set fightback.
Cirstea, the world No.18, was coming off reaching the French Open last eight where she lost to eventual winner Mirra Andreeva.
Inglis pushed her hard, battling for two hours 26 minutes on a windy day in London.
Britain's Katie Boulter, Alex de Minaur's fiancee, produced the surprise of the day defeating Canadian eighth-seed Layla Fernandez 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-5.
With Emma Raducanu beating Anna Blinkova 6-0 6-3 it made for a day of double delight for the home audience.
Defending champion Tatjana Maria, who complained about having to come through qualifying rather than being given a wildcard, progressed with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Maria Sakkari.
