Serena Williams plays with Victoria Mboko during Women’s Doubles first round match on Day Two of the HSBC Championships at The Queen’s Club, June 9, 2026, in London. (Luke Walker/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Serena Williams received a hero’s welcome on Tuesday as she made her first competitive appearance since the 2022 U.S. Open.
Dressed in a pink skirt with matching pink shoes, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion walked onto a packed center court at Queen’s Club in London to loud cheers from fans eager to see the tennis legend back in action.
Queen’s Club, a historic and relatively intimate venue in west London, was filled to capacity for the occasion. By the time Williams stepped onto the court, there was not an empty seat in the house.
Williams, 44, teamed up with Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko, 19, in the first round of the HSBC Championships women’s doubles tournament. The pair faced the No. 3-seeded team of American Nicole Melichar-Martinez and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe.
Despite her lengthy absence from competition, Williams and Mboko battled through a tightly contested opening set before winning the tiebreak 7-2 to take the set 7-6.
Williams stepped away from competition after the 2022 U.S. Open but never formally announced her retirement.
Williams owns 23 Grand Slam singles titles and 14 Grand Slam doubles titles with her sister, Venus Williams. She has also won seven singles and seven doubles titles at Wimbledon.
Her return comes as the grass-court season ramps up ahead of Wimbledon later this month. Williams is also entered in doubles at the Berlin Open, where she is expected to continue her comeback to competition.
Noah Hanifin #15 of the Vegas Golden Knights skates against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game Three of the 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on June 06, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The Las Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes are in the midst of a baby boom as they battle for the Stanley Cup title, according to the NHL.
Several of the Golden Knights and Canes players are either expecting fathers or have recently welcomed babies with their partners.
They include the Golden Knights’ Noah Hanifin, Mark Stone, Nic Dowd, Jack Eichel and Shea Theodore.
Hanifin, the 29-year-old Golden Knights defenseman, told the NHL that he and his wife, Monique Hanifin, are “excited” about the imminent arrival of their second child.
“We have an 11-month-old now, so I’m a little nervous about having two under 1, that’s for sure,” he said. “But no, I’m excited. With the games going on right now obviously it’s close, but we’ll see what happens. It’s kind of out of our control.”
On the Hurricanes front, K’Andre Miller, Sean Walker and Jalen Chatfield all are dads to babies born during this postseason.
According to the NHL, Miller and his girlfriend, Addison, welcomed son Kashton back on May 2, on the same day the Canes took on the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Second Round, which saw Miller take to the ice.
Just a few days later, teammate Walker and his wife, Taylor Walker, said hello to their baby daughter Quinn, ahead of Game 4 in that series on May 9.
Walker reflected on the close coincidence on the NHL’s “The Rink” podcast.
“We were both like, ‘What’s going on? This is crazy,'” Walker said. “We were just hoping it wasn’t going to line up on the same night. Again, what are the chances that it worked out perfectly? No one had to miss a game. Everyone was able to get where they had to be. Quite a whirlwind.”
The Golden Knights and Hurricanes face off again Tuesday in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup in Las Vegas.
The Vegas team looks to advance their 2-1 lead while the North Carolina team looks to tie up the best-of-seven game series.
Game 4 of the Stanley Cup airs June 9 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
ABC News has reached out to the Golden Knights and the Hurricanes for comment.
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