Ever since the news emerged in February that Serena Williams was eligible to compete again, the tennis world has been holding its breath for a comeback announcement. That wait finally seemed to end during the French Open days, as reports linked the icon with a return at the HSBC Championships, the very grass-court stage where, as Serena said, she experienced some of the “meaningful moments” of her career. Now, with her arrival at Queen’s Club drawing closer, the signs are getting harder to ignore, and the 44-year-old looks ready to be unleashed once again on the green courts.

In a recent X post, the Lawn Tennis Association shared a clip captioned, “Serious aura…😍👑”. The post showed Serena Williams bringing her trademark flair to the grass court as she looked completely at ease.

She was seen casually walking with her racket while walking across the court, looking relaxed and confident. Behind her, her doubles partner Victoria Mboko could be seen sitting and talking to someone beside her.

As Serena Williams prepares to step back onto the court after she evolved away from tennis following the 2022 US Open, one question continues to come up. Why did she choose grass for her return?

For the 44-year-old American ace, the answer is quite simple. Grass is the surface where she enjoyed some of the biggest and most memorable successes of her legendary career.

That is exactly why the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club feels special for her. “Queen’s Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter,” Williams even said.

The numbers certainly back up that decision to return to grass. During her career, Williams played 123 singles matches on grass and won 107 of them. That gave her an impressive 87%-win rate on the surface. In fact, grass remains the only surface where she owns the best record of her career.

The Olympic gold medalist won 83.9% of her matches on hard courts, recording a 540-104 record. On clay, she posted a 179-47 record, which translates to a 79.2% win rate.

While her singles achievements are widely celebrated, Serena Williams also built one of the greatest doubles careers the sport has ever seen. She collected 23 doubles titles overall throughout her career.

Alongside her sister and 7-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, Serena captured 14 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles. The pair also completed a Career Grand Slam and won six of those major trophies on the grass courts of SW19.

As for her partnership with Victoria Mboko, the 19-year-old is currently ranked ninth in the WTA rankings and already owns two career titles. Despite spending only a limited time on tour, Victoria Mboko has shown she can challenge elite opponents which could be a perfect match for Williams’ experience and power. 

With Serena now pursuing a highly anticipated comeback, backed by her former coach Patrick Mouratoglou, the tennis world is eagerly awaiting the return of a champion and mother, much like Elina Svitolina highlighted.

Elina Svitolina explains the similarities between Roger Federer and Serena Williams

The comeback announcement of Serena Williams has sent shockwaves across the tennis world. Players, fans, and even former stars have all been sharing their thoughts on what her return could mean for the sport.

Among those voices is Elina Svitolina, who believes Williams’ comeback carries significance far beyond tennis itself. 

“Serena… it’s a very unique situation. She’s like Roger… you know… Maybe not play for a year or something and then just go and play unbelievable. I think it’s just a different level of GOAT. I’m really excited actually for her to come back. I think it’s a great story and very inspiring for all the moms around the world,” Svitolina said after she got beaten at the quarterfinal of Roland Garros.

As excitement around the comeback continues to grow, her elder sister, Venus Williams also appears increasingly convinced that her sister is capable of making a successful return.

“I don’t know how her form is. But what I will tell you is that she (cannot hit) for like four months, and I’ll be hitting, and she’ll come out and grab a racket and running shoes, and just hits a ton out of the ball…It’s incredible,” Venus added in a recent TNT broadcasting show.

The former top seeded player continued to praise Serena’s remarkable abilities. “So, the quality of her stroke is obviously there. She’s, I think, a little bit of a natural. [Laughing] She has a pretty good record; she knows what she’s doing. She’s very tenacious, so I’m not worried about how she’s going to play. Even though I really haven’t seen her play. It’s so crazy.”

As Serena now pushes toward her comeback, the grass-court season is now shaping up to be one of the most eagerly awaited stretches of tennis in recent history as many eyes will be firmly fixed on Serena.