By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Photograph credit score: Robert Prange/Getty
Sequels seldom exceed the originals.
The second match of Serena Williams’ comeback tour started with welcome information: Wimbledon awarded doubles wild playing cards to 46-year-old Venus Williams (she’s 46 tomorrow, however we favor prolonged celebrations) and 44-year-old Serena Williams for his or her first SW19 look collectively since they received a sixth Wimbledon doubles crown in 2016.
The previous world No. 1 Serena Williams and companion Karolina Muchova took the courtroom to rousing reception from Berlin followers immediately.
Then doubles specialists Erin Routliffe and Giuliana Olmos closed the curtain with a 6-4, 6-4 sweep of Muchova and Williams within the Berlin Tennis Open opener.
Final Tuesday, the icon was impressed enjoying her first professional match in three years and 9 months on London’s garden.
Williams and 19-year-old companion Victoria Mboko defeated third seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe 7-6(2), 6-2 of their Queen’s Membership opening match. That dynamic partnership ended after Mboko suffered a knee damage in her singles match in opposition to former No. 1 Karolina Pliskova and was compelled to retire from Queen’s Membership and withdraw from Wimbledon.
A couple of rapid observations from immediately’s match:
*The four-time Olympic gold medal champion’s serve wasn’t fairly as imposing immediately because it was in her comeback match alongside Victoria Mboko final week. Serena surrendered the primary break within the seventh sport immediately, didn’t fairly break the slice function sharply on the deuce aspect, however acquired stronger because the set progressed holding for 3-4 with Muchova enjoying I-formation at internet.
*Historically, Serena returns from the deuce courtroom when partnering sister Venus. She performed the deuce return final week with Mboko, who owns a crackling two-handed backhand, thriving from the advert courtroom. As we speak, Williams returned from the advert aspect, noticed somer of her backhand crosses intercepted by a poaching Olmos and flattened a couple of forehand returns into internet.
*Reigning US Open doubles champion Routliffe was going through Williams for the second time in every week and this time the previous doubles world No. 1 was each extra relaxed and extra assertive at internet snapping off a number of smashes.
*For stretches of this 90-minute match, the 33-year-old Olmos was probably the most impactful participant on the courtroom. Displaying fast fingers and fearless poaching expertise, Olmos tagged Serena twice with aggressive volleys—apologizing each within the second and within the handshake at internet—and her savvy courtroom sense and positioning had been keys immediately.
*As in her Queen’s Membership comeback, Serena was enjoying Serena tennis. That’s, attempting to serve large, driving groundstrokes with authority and detonating the drive volley with damaging intent. At 44, Serena nonetheless owns point-ending energy. Extra importantly, she’s all in on imposing it too. One in all her most underrated weapons, IMO, is the sharp-angled backhand crosscourt the place she takes tempo off the ball and may freeze opponents with the angle. Seeing Olmos and Routliffe repeatedly pinch the center poaching and controlling the middle, it could have been intelligent to see Williams attempt to play some shorter angles, increase the width of the courtroom and in flip maybe open up the center for these jolting drive volleys. Nonetheless, whether or not she’s on the baseline or at internet, serving or returning, Williams has the killer intuition and the kill photographs to terminate factors and it’s thrilling to see that once more.
*As we speak’s defeat denies the world a doubles conflict between Serena Williams, one of many quickest servers in WTA historical past, and Sara Errani, one of many slowest servers in WTA historical past, who typically resorts to the underarm serve. Olmos and Routliffe will play third seeds Sara Errani and Nicole Melichar-Martinez within the quarterfinals.
Serving at 3-All, Williams was handcuffed by a deep Olmos return to face a break level. When Williams sailed a backhand lengthy, Olmos and Routliffe scored the primary break for 4-3.
In relation to sheer pace, Olmos’ serve was the softest on the courtroom immediately. But, the 33-year-old Mexican moved it across the field successfully backing up the break with a strong maintain for 5-3.
Enjoying simply their second doubles occasion of the season—and first match collectively—Muchova and Williams confirmed some indecision on a drive down the center. Each paused in deference to the opposite earlier than Williams poked an off-balance forehand huge as Routliffe went up 40-0 on serve.
The short Olmos poached and hit a excessive backhand volley to shut the 40-minute opener on Routliffe’s serve.
Although Muchova is without doubt one of the finest volleyers amongst singles stars on the WTA Tour, she typically regarded reluctant to enterprise too far ahead on pivotal factors immediately. Olmos snapped a volley at Muchova then the Czech despatched a backhand lengthy to drop serve within the fifth sport of the second set.
Williams and Muchova weren’t as constant on return and paid the value. After two missed returns, Routliffe slashed a serve down the T extending the result in 6-4, 4-2.
The previous world No. 1 in singles and doubles’ finest stretch of play got here within the seventh and eighth video games. Serving with Muchova crouching down in I-formation, Williams carved a superb angled forehand volley winner as she held for 3-4.
Threatening the USC grad Olmos’ serve, Williams tomahawked a smash proper at Routliffe, who turned her again in self-preservation mode. That play put Muchova and Williams up 15-30, however Serena slapped a forehand return into backside of the following and Muchova sailed a forehand on the deciding level as Olmos stood tall for 5-3.
Although the wild playing cards attain 15-30 on Routliffe’s serve—two factors from leveling—Olmos calmly reduce off a return with an angled volley winner, Routliffe ripped an ace huge for match level then Olmos slammed one closing smash to finish a strong 90-minute win.
When you’ve watched Serena Williams play all through her profession, then you already know she hardly ever goes to the towel throughout video games. In extraordinarily scorching or humid circumstances, she is going to typically wipe sweat off her racquet hand on the underside of her skirt, but hardly ever will she really go to the towel as many male gamers do, together with Novak, Rafa and Massive Foe to call a couple of.
Curiously, as Serena stopped to signal autographs earlier than departing courtroom immediately, she made certain to choose up the match towel and drape it over her left shoulder like a cape on a superhero.
Possibly it’s the mother inside realizing towels are important instruments with two younger children working round.
Possibly it’s the champion inside realizing there’s much more sweat and work to come back to prepare for Wimbledon.
