US tennis star Serena Williams faced a straight-sets loss in the Berlin Open doubles on Tuesday. This happened just hours after she confirmed her return to Wimbledon to play with her sister, Venus.
Williams teamed up with Czech player Karolina Muchova. They lost to Mexico’s Giuliana Olmos and Erin Routliffe from New Zealand with a score of 6-4, 6-4.
The pair lost the first set when Williams had her serve broken in the second game. They were broken on Muchova’s serve in the middle of the second set and could not recover from that.
“I felt pretty good out there. I felt actually more nimble and more sturdy and quicker than the first match in Queens,” Williams said after the match.
“I felt overall pretty good, just physically and quickness. I think you need a lot of quickness on grass.”
This match was the 44-year-old Williams’ second since her surprising comeback announcement in early June. She won her first match back at Queen’s Club last Monday, but her run ended because of an injury to her doubles partner, Victoria Mboko.
When asked about choosing Muchova as her doubles partner, Williams laughed and said, “Czech players have given me nothing but trouble throughout my whole career. So if you can’t beat them, join them.”
The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion took a break from tennis in 2022. She announced her return earlier this month, saying she wanted to play for her two young daughters.
In the match, Williams showed flashes of the powerful game that made her a dominant force in women’s tennis for two decades. But she struggled to find her rhythm early on after being away for nearly four years.
As the match continued, she improved her footwork and displayed her powerful serve and trademark forehand, which were key parts of her game.
With one last wildcard spot remaining for Wimbledon, starting on June 29, Williams quickly dismissed any talk about making a singles comeback.
“You think I’m ready for singles?” Williams asked reporters. “I need to get to work.”
The last of her 23 Grand Slam wins came at the 2017 Australian Open. She last lifted the Wimbledon trophy in 2016.
Together, the Williams sisters have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, including six at Wimbledon.
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