Serena Williams

Serena Williams won her first match in a year, playing doubles with Ons Jabeur at Eastbourne, but did not commit to plans for a full schedule in 2023.

Tuesday was a tremendous day for British players in Eastbourne. Katie Boulter, a former top‑100 player still trying to make her way back after a variety of injuries, pulled off the biggest win of her career as she defeated the No 7 Karolina Pliskova 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the round of 16. Over the past year, she has remained in the public eye, but her absence from the tour at 40 years old led many to wonder if she had competed for the last time. She has not competed for 51 weeks after slipping in the first round of last year’s Wimbledon and injuring a hamstring, forcing her to retire from the tournament. On Tuesday afternoon Williams finally entered the grounds of the Eastbourne International and alongside Ons Jabeur she made a winning return in her first match after a one‑year layoff. It was not until Tuesday afternoon that Williams and Jabeur met as partners and trained together for the first time and it showed. After trailing a break, Williams served out the second set with a vintage play.

Serena Williams returned to the tennis court Tuesday after nearly a year away from the sport. And earned a hard fought victory.

Williams looked rusty to start and her movement was lacking. It was an impressive win given that Sorribes Tormo is ranked 48 in the world in doubles and Bouzková 32. The draw for Wimbledon is Friday and nobody in the women’s game will want to see an unseeded Serena in their section of the draw. Serena, now No. 1204 in the world in singles, is unranked in doubles but has 14 career Grand Slam doubles titles. But when the match was hanging in the balance, Williams was the most composed person on the court as she and partner Ons Jabeur prevailed over Sara Sorribes Tormo and Marie Bouzková, 2-6, 6-3, 13-11, at Eastbourne. Our opponents played amazing, we were just trying to stay in there after the first set.”

Until Tuesday, Williams hadn't played a single second of competitive tennis in nearly a year.

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The 40-year-old will return to Wimbledon after a year away from the game, giving those of us who have seen her growth and evolution into being one of the ...

From the very outset of her career, Serena was cast into the role of being a pioneer. Because of that, Serena’s return to Wimbledon or any tournament for that matter, is a reason to celebrate and appreciate her. It’s great that she has won 23 Grand Slam titles and seven Wimbledon titles. But impacting the lives of others with her play, its purpose and a proven body of work sustained over more than 20 years, is the kind of legacy that should be embraced and appreciated. Not only because of her talent, but what her talent has meant to the world of tennis, a world that’s a lot more open to embracing Black and Brown talent thanks to her. Even at less than her best, Williams is a tennis tsunami with varying levels and layers of impact that cannot be overlooked.

No one knew what to expect from Serena Williams on Tuesday. But after a slow start in her doubles match with Ons Jabeur, she reminded us all of what makes ...

"A day at a time," she said. Despite their success and infectious giddiness after the victory, Williams was noncommittal when asked if she and Jabeur would be playing together at Wimbledon. She perhaps summed up her overall attitude entering the tournament with her response: While that type of reception was hardly a surprise for arguably the greatest tennis player of all time and a woman with 23 major titles to her name, no one knew what to expect from the 40-year-old Williams on the court. Williams hadn't played doubles since Auckland in 2020, and last played a competitive match at Wimbledon in 2021. While there were a few moments of vintage Serena greatness, including a dominant overhead smash -- met, of course, by raucous applause -- it looked for most of the first set as if Williams and Jabeur's eagerly anticipated run in Eastbourne would be a short one. She gave a wry smile and a wave as all eyes were locked on her every move.

Serena Williams of the United States celebrates after wining their doubles tennis match with Ons Jabeur of Tunisia against Marie Bouzkova of Czech Republic ...

“It was so fun to play with Ons,” Williams said in an interview on the court. The win was clinched when Sorribes Tormo miscued a volley. “It was great. Third-seeded Maria Sakkari was also eliminated, beaten by Anhelina Kalinina 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. Main-draw play at the All England Club starts Monday. “I caught some fire behind me," the 40-year-old Williams said.

Serena Williams offers positive signs in her comeback match. Can she contend at Wimbledon? Dan Wolken. USA TODAY.

Somehow, Williams produced that kind of tennis again Tuesday, even if it was just on the doubles court at a small tournament a couple hours south of Wimbledon. It doesn't mean she’ll win or even last more than a couple rounds next week. Even this week, it’s a little strange that she chose only to play doubles, which requires different skillsets and less endurance than what she’ll face on the singles court. It’s almost inconceivable that she’d have the fitness level, rhythm and confidence to win seven straight matches against the best players in the world. But Williams made it clear that even after a long layoff and her 40th birthday in the rear-view mirror, she’s still got some game left. Williams, whose ranking has dropped to No. 1,204, hasn't played since tearing a hamstring at 3-3 in the first round of last year's Wimbledon against Aliaksandra Sasnovich. When Williams announced last week that she would take a wildcard entry into the Wimbledon field this year, the accompanying commitment to play doubles in Eastbourne would theoretically give her a chance to knock off some of the rust and get a feel for the grass without asking too much of herself physically. While her younger rivals have been grinding away on tour for the last couple years, Williams has played just eight singles matches in the past 16 months. She recently split with her longtime coach, Patrick Mouratoglou. There was no buzz in the tennis world about progressing toward a comeback. Was it a shot in the dark after months where it seemed like she didn’t really intend to play tennis again? Since Barty's retirement, Iga Swiatek has taken her place as the tour’s dominant force and will ride into Wimbledon on a 35-match win streak encompassing six tournament titles including the most recent French Open. I called (Jabeur to ask about the partnership). She’s been playing so well and I knew I need to play some matches. The details of the match, and even the result, don’t matter much. Roughly 90 minutes later, after a 2-6, 6-3, 13-11 (tiebreak in place of third set) victory in doubles playing alongside No. 3-ranked Ons Jabeur, we didn't get all the answers to those questions.

Williams, who continues to chase a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title, has not played competitive tennis since limping out of her first-round match ...

It was fun and that drop shot at the end..." Quizzed on her future, Williams insisted: "You know what I am literally taking it one day at a time. I would be dishonest if I said it wasn't and now my body feels great" I would be dishonest if I said it wasn't and now my body feels great. The 40-year-old said there were times when she feared she would ever compete again, saying: "Did I ever doubt I would return? Williams made her comeback appearance 12 months after she was forced to retire in the first round at Wimbledon due to a right leg injury; "Did I ever doubt I would return?