Serena Williams’ time at her first tournament back, the HSBC Championships, was cut short after her doubles partner Victoria Mboko was forced to withdraw due to injury. However, the 23-time Grand Slam champion made the most of her time at the Queen’s Club.
The American, who was accompanied by her family to England, was seen spending time with daughter Olympia. In one of her Instagram stories, she was seen playfully teasing her eight-year-old.
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In the short clip, Williams asks Olympia to share her excitement for an escape room challenge. When her daughter replies with a “I don’t like escape room”, the tennis legend jokingly calls her “Baby Grandmother”. The playful teasing continues with Williams even giving Olympia her grandmother Oracene’s name.
Notably, Williams had during her comeback interview said a big part of her being able to return to tennis was her kids getting a little older. She mentioned Olympia, who is eight and Adira, who is just two and was born a year after she hung up her tennis racket in 2022. She has maintained that her return to tennis is just for “fun” and she was not putting any expectations on herself.
“Why not?” Serena Williams said. “In December I definitely was not. And then I was just talking to a few people and just, you know, chatting about different possibilities and just having fun. You know, something a little bit different. And so I just kept talking and talking, and then I was like, well why not.”
“Olympia is a little bit older,” the American continued. “Adira is very young but it’s still moments like that. It’s also that an athlete is the best thing that you can be in the highest place. Having an opportunity to still be able to possibly do that one last time is kind of cool and exciting.”
Serena Williams sings praises of doubles partner Victoria Mboko
Serena Williams also spoke about her decision to partner with 19-year-old Victoria Mboko for her comeback tournament, saying she was impressed with the youngster’s game from the get-go.
The American said watching Mboko win the title in Canada last year and follow it up with consistent results is what stood out for her. She said the teenager’s ability to maintain her form and not lose focus after a big result was something she was a big draw for her.
“I was quite impressed with her game,” Serena Williams said. “I was impressed with her attitude. What I liked the most about her was that the next time she played, she still kept winning. I was like, ‘OK, I love that.’ It reminded me a lot of myself.
“Sometimes you win one, and then you have a little bit of a low. Which is normal, and that’s OK as well! But I loved how she had this drive,” she added.
After upsetting third seed Nicole Melichar and Erin Routliffe in their opening match, Williams and Mboko were set to take on Laura Siegemund and Leylah Fernandez in the quarterfinals. Mboko, however, suffered an injury in her singles match against Karolina Pliskova and was forced to pull out of the tournament.|
Edited by Vedant Chandel