Serena Williams’ tennis comeback: What fans did and did not learn from a first win

With an ace out wide, another ace out wide, and then a service winner, Serena Williams booked a place for her and her partner, rising star Victoria Mboko, in the Queen’s women’s doubles quarterfinals.

The greatest server in the history of women’s tennis and one of the greatest players of the modern era is back, with a comfortable 7-6(2), 6-2 win over No. 3 seeds Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez marking her return to tennis after almost four years away.

There was some uncertainty about how Williams, 44, would take to the match court. Over 90 minutes of play Tuesday evening in west London, there was plenty of brilliance, plenty of rust, and plenty of evidence that Williams had made an outstanding choice of partner. Mboko, the 19-year-old Canadian and world No. 9 in singles, produced a superb performance, and Williams described her as “holding up the team” in their post-match interview.

Routliffe and Melichar-Martinez seemed a little overawed by the occasion, both hitting costly double faults and missing regulation volleys. They were playing together for the first time and, despite being accomplished doubles players, they lacked chemistry and cohesion. In that context, it was impressive how quickly Williams and Mboko, also a scratch pair, could gel.

During the first set, Williams appeared a little nervous and tentative on a few shots. In the first game, she missed a makeable volley before settling and hitting a couple of good ones to help Mboko hold serve.

In Williams’ first service game, she unleashed a couple of unreturned first serves to extend her and Mboko’s lead to 3-0. The serve is such an interesting part of Williams’ comeback — even if she’s not as quick around the court as she used to be, she will still be competitive if it’s anything like as potent as it was in her prime. The signs on Tuesday were encouraging, as it sped up from under 100 miles per hour at the start to as high as 120 mph toward the end of the first set.

It was also clear only a few games in that Williams was taking this extremely seriously. She had said in a news conference before the match that she had nothing to lose on her return and that “everything is just a gain,” but that shouldn’t be mistaken for thinking she will be anything other than uber-competitive.

With Mboko serving at 3-1, Williams screamed in anguish after missing a shot and then apologized earnestly to her partner. Williams then roared with delight after putting away an easy volley.

Things got a bit patchy for Williams midway through the first set when she missed a few returns and looked off balance hitting groundstrokes as Routliffe held for 4-2. Williams was then broken after a short return caught her cold before a double-fault.

Williams then seemed to settle and grow into the match. After she hit a sensational backhand passing shot (below) off a Routliffe smash, she disbelievingly turned to Mboko and said, “No way,” as her nerves and tension seemed to dissipate into the London evening. It was the instinctively enthusiastic reaction of a rookie rather than arguably the greatest player in the history of the sport:

“I got nervous right before the match — maybe 30 minutes before — and then I just let it go,” Williams said in a post-match news conference with Mboko.

The miraculous shot secured a hold for 5-4, and a couple of games later it was clear that Williams was really cranking through the gears. A 120 mph unreturned serve underlined how loose she was, in stark contrast to her opponents, who looked overawed. Melichar-Martinez completely mishit a sitter of a smash to gift Williams a hold for 6-5 — but they might not be the only opponents to play below their usual level on an unfamiliar, big stage, while facing one of the biggest icons in sports history.

Routliffe missed a similarly regulation volley in the next game, and a double fault apiece from the pair in the tiebreak helped Williams and Mboko grab a one-set lead.

They never looked like relinquishing it. Williams hit a brilliant backhand return to help her and Mboko pick up an early break in the second set, and the former let out a cry of celebration after hitting a 118 mph serve that drew another missed return.

A miscued smash with Mboko serving at 3-2 was another reminder that there’s still some sharpening up to do, but generally Williams got stronger as the match wore on. A trio of crosscourt forehands, the last of which flew past Routliffe and Melichar-Martinez for a winner, got the biggest “yes!” of the afternoon from Williams.

Then came the absurdly strong way she finished the match on serve. After the second ace, Williams was giggling, seemingly in disbelief, at how quickly things had come together in her first match back.

When it was over, she said in her on-court interview, “I had so much fun playing with Vicky. She really was able to hold up the team and play big on the big points. I could really rely on her. It felt so natural playing with her, so it was really fun.”

Mboko said she had been “honored” and “privileged” to play with Williams.

Assessing her own performance, Williams said in their news conference that she would give herself a C-minus.

“I mean, it’s funny, because there were moments in the match where we were, ‘Oh, this isn’t going great’, or kind of very self-critical, but I understand,” Mboko said in agreement.

“It feels like it was far from our level a little bit, but I think it’s great knowing that you have so much room for improvement. And have the motivation to get better.

“There were moments where it was tough, but that’s a part of the sport and with the adrenaline and everything. Overall, I’d say it was pretty good.”

After Mboko said that grass was a particularly tricky surface to come back on, Williams quipped: “Grass, four years.”

“Yeah. Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Mboko said. 

Williams’ successful return to the match court led to some excitement over the prospect of her playing singles, but the excellent first result doesn’t necessarily mean she’s close to being ready for that. There’s a huge step up in athleticism and intensity required for singles, and when Routliffe and Melichar-Martinez got Williams on the run, her timing and execution erred.

Williams’ elder sister, Venus, was 45 when she began her comeback last year, after only 16 months out, and has found it tough. After winning her first match back, against Peyton Stearns at the Citi Open in Washington D.C. last July, she has lost 10 matches in a row.

Players entering their late careers often talk about the fact that while their top level does not really fade, it’s the ability to play at a winning level consistently and for sustained enough periods to win matches that is harder to reclaim.

That’s what Williams is building towards, because it’s pretty clear she’s not back for a hit and giggle. As Mboko put it immediately afterward: “We’re going for more.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Tennis, Women’s Tennis

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