Rust? Not really. While Serena Williams might not have been in her best form ever, she certainly didn't look like a player who hadn't participated in a professional tennis match in nearly four years. She might have played even better than her younger partner, Victoria Mboko, at the HSBC Championships against Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe.
Williams and Mboko jumped out to a 3-0 first-set lead before their opponents mounted a comeback to get back to even and eventually force a tie-break. The entire time, Williams showed power (her serve was clocked as high as 120 mph) and quick hands.
The point of the first set came on the final service point for Williams and Mboko when Routliffe hit a ball in the corner towards Williams, and the tennis icon was able to get a solid racket on the ball and hit a winner back.
Serena Williams sharp in her return to professional tennis at the HSBC Championships
If anyone needed further proof that Serena Williams was still capable of greatness, that point was the evidence. But she was consistently brilliant through set one, understanding even better than Mboko, a player who doesn't participate in doubles all that much, how to align herself and create a strategy for playing winning team tennis.
Williams looked good enough to be dangerous in singles, too. She has not completely ruled out a return in that aspect, and should she choose to do so, she likely would have good results. Maybe she would need to build up the endurance needed to win titles, but even a 44-year-old Williams is better than most currently getting paid to play the sport.
Fittingly, Williams was able to serve out the match. She certainly served notice that with her power and high tennis IQ, she won't go away easily in her return to the sport. Who knows? She might even be a threat at Wimbledon with a partner to be named, which could be Victoria Mboko.
Whether she plays singles at the grass-court major is also unknown, but she played so well with Mboko that the American implied she would do well at Wimbledon. That would definitely make for must-watch tennis.
Serena Williams and Victoria Mboko are now into the quarterfinals of the 2026 HSBC Championships after winning 7-6(2), 6-2. They will next play the winner of the match between Leylah Fernandez and Laura Siegemund versus Alexandra Panova and Demi Schuurs.
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