Fresh off her second-round victory at the French Open, when Victoria Mboko was asked about reports linking her to Serena Williams’ potential comeback, the 19-year-old didn’t hold back. She steered away from confirming Williams’ return, but how she addressed the question made it seem like her desire to play alongside her idol may be days away from reality.

“I’m very happy that me and Serena have stayed in touch, which is really, really nice because I look up to her,” Mboko said during the post-match press conference. “I feel like if she’s ready to come back on her own terms then I feel like it’s up to her to announce that. Other than that, I don’t really have much to say. The moment is up to her when she is ready to come back, yeah, it’s up to her.”

It’s no secret that the 9th seed grew up idolizing Williams. Last year at the National Bank Open in Montreal, Victoria Mboko matched Serena’s historic feat by becoming only the second player in WTA history to defeat four Grand Slam champions en route to her maiden singles title. Serena accomplished this at the 1999 US Open at 17 years and 11 months old, and Mboko replicated it at 18 years and 11 months, making her the second-youngest player ever to do so. It’s a big step for the rising star whose journey in the sport has brought her closer to her idol, in ways she perhaps never imagined.

“A friend of a friend told me that she knew she (Serena) watched my match. I also remember that last year, she watched my match with Venus in Montreal. When I’m playing some matches, and she’s able to watch, and I’m hearing from other people that she has watched my matches, which is pretty cool,” she revealed.

It is safe to say that Mboko would be very happy if the reports do go on to be true. Especially when earlier this year in February, she told Tennis Channel that her ideal opponent would be Serena Williams herself.

“When I was a lot younger, watching tennis a lot on TV, I always saw Serena kind of winning everything. It was easy for me to look up to her as a role model. She was such an icon at the time. I really loved the way she used to play. When I was younger, I tried to, like, hit like her and tried to hit the ball hard,” she had said at the Roland Garros last year.

This wasn’t the first or last time that Mboko mentioned Serena. Per reports, the 23-time Grand Slam champion was rumored to make her comeback earlier this year, in February, after it was confirmed that she had completed a six-month stint in the anti-doping testing pool.

“Yeah, I’ve been seeing it around my social media where it says she’s coming back. I feel like it’s never really confirmed until she says it’s confirmed. That would be pretty cool for the sport. She’s a legend. She’s such a household name. I mean, if I were to ever play her, that would be a really great experience, and that would be really fun,” Mboko had told Tennis Gazzette at the Qatar Open earlier this year.

The conversation around Williams’ return started when American sports journalist Jon Wertheim had claimed that Serena had submitted wildcard requests to tournaments for the upcoming grass swing during his appearance on the Served Podcast with Andy Roddick. He had also said that there is a chance she might participate in the doubles draw alongside Mboko at the HSBC Championships next month.

Although the signs of her return were always there.

Is Serena Williams’ Return a Real Possibility?

Even though her participation in Queen’s Club remains entirely speculative for now, her return was imminent as the signs were. always there. Serena Williams’ last appearance on the court was in 2022. However, when she decided to part ways with the sport, she made one thing quite clear: she “evolved away.” Hence, her decision to come back was never supposed to be a surprise.

Before Andy Roddick and Wertheim fanned the fire, Williams was already taking baby steps toward her return when she re-entered the ITIA drug testing pool last year in October. As per protocol, to return to competition, players must make themselves available for out-of-competition testing for six months before they are allowed to enter an event. By calculation, the observation period for Williams was over in April 2026, making her eligible for return.

In addition to that, she has maintained a pretty well-documented and active lifestyle by regularly training and hosting practice sessions with WTA players. Alycia Parks, the WTA World No 79, also posted a video of them hitting together in March.

Her records also make it easy for her to get wildcards in many tournaments. As for the Lawn Tennis Association’s policy, there are two doubles wildcards available for the tournament at the HSBC Championships. One of them is reserved for a team that includes a former World No. 1, a Grand Slam champion of the past 10 years, or a current top 30 player, which would tick for her if she requests a wildcard at Queen’s Club.

Hence, if Serena is really looking to make a return, there is really nothing that can prove to be a roadblock. Not to mention that the tournament organizers won’t have any problems in awarding the American with the wildcard either, as her choice to return will gain the global spectacle.