Serena Williams will return to tennis next week at the Queen’s Club Championships.
She is expected to play doubles with Canadian youngster Victoria Mboko, but will she enter the singles draw as well?
How excited are you to watch Serena Williams play on the WTA Tour once again? 🐐
Rennae Stubbs, who is expected to accompany Williams when she returns, has now answered that very question.
Rennae Stubbs says ‘there is no way’ Serena Williams plays singles at Queen’s
During the latest episode of ‘The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast‘, the Aussie commented on Williams’ return.
“I was being a little coy, but obviously Serena [Williams] has announced that she is back; that’s one of the reasons why I’m over here in London…” said Stubbs.
“We’re going to see her playing a little action at Queen’s.”
Stubbs continued, addressing the rumours that Williams and Mboko will play doubles together at Queen’s.
“That is the plan, yes, that is the plan,” she said.
“Well, I’ll leave the rest up to Serena to talk about; she did announce on her Instagram today that she is coming back.
“I’ll leave it to her, and her PR team and everything like that, but that’s why I’m over here in London.
“It’s a great place for her to come back, because she is the Queen, so why not?”
Later, Stubbs delivered her verdict on the tournament’s decision not to award the defending champion, Tatjana Maria, a wild card.
“I think that’s pretty bad, unless you’re literally waiting for some massive name to play singles and you’re praying, that’s pretty bad,” she said.
Stubbs was then asked whether that is the case.
“No,” she said.
“Literally, unless it was someone like Serena, there is no way, and that’s not going to happen!
“So, that’s just pretty bad, I think you absolutely need to give your defending champion a wild card.”
Stubbs confirmed that Williams won’t be playing singles at Queen’s, although her Wimbledon plans are unclear.
Tennis legend John McEnroe believes Williams will play singles at Wimbledon and even went as far as to comment on her title chances.
“If she is coming back, she’s not coming back because she’s happy to play and it’s fun. She is coming back because she wants to win another major. That is the only reason I can think that Serena Williams wants to play tennis again,” said McEnroe.
It remains to be seen what the future holds for Williams, but you certainly won’t want to miss a second of the action when she returns next week at Queen’s.
What happened the last time Rennae Stubbs coached Serena Williams?
Stubbs has worked alongside Williams before, coaching her during her final tournament, four years ago.
Williams began the 2022 US Open with a confident 6-3, 6-3, win over Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic.
Then, she took on the second seed, Anett Kontaveit.
Williams took the first set in a tiebreak, before the Estonian fought back, winning the second 6-2, to force a decider.
There, Williams, willed on by her home fans, took the victory, 7-6, 2-6, 6-2.
In doing so, she booked her place in the third round, where she met Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic.
This time, Williams lost a tight first set before battling back to take the second in a tiebreaker.
Unfortunately for Williams and the majority of the fans watching at Arthur Ashe Stadium, she couldn’t finish the job, losing the final set 6-1, retiring from tennis with a defeat.
Can Williams return to winning ways when she returns?
Only time will tell.
The 2026 Queen’s Club Championships begin on Monday, June 8, before Wimbledon starts on Monday, June 29