'Queen is Back,' Serena Williams Hyped by 19-Year-Old Doubles Partner Vicky Mboko After Unretiring

No. 9 Victoria Mboko is excited to be playing as Serena Williams' doubles partner in the former world No. 1's return to competitive tennis.

"The Queen is back," the 19-year-old Canadian wrote in the caption of a photo of her and Williams shared Thursday on Instagram.

Mboko continued, "An honor to share the court with one of the greatest athletes of all time this week. Even more excited to play doubles together! Tennis is pretty special."

The HSBC Championships shared a video of WIlliams and Mboko practicing together Thursday at The Queen's Club.

Williams, who has not played professional tennis since 2022, will be entering alongside Mboko as wild card entries when the HSBC Championships start next Wednesday in London.

Williams, 44, announced Monday that she would be returning to professional competition after accepting the doubles wild card invitation.

"Queen's Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter," Williams said in a statement. "Grass has given me some of the most meaningful moments of my career, and I'm excited to be back competing on one of the sport's most iconic stages."

Mboko said prior to Williams' announcement she and Williams have "stayed in touch."

"I really look up to her, and the fact that she even knows me is very exciting," Mboko said last week.

Williams won 14 doubles titles alongside her sister Venus Williams from 1999 to 2016.

The duo went undefeated over that span, which they finished off with eight straight-set wins.

Williams last played into the third round of the 2022 U.S. Open, after which she said she was "evolving away from tennis." She gave birth to her second daughter in 2023.

She will make her comeback alongside one of the most rapidly ascending players in women's tennis in Mboko, who finished the 2024 season ranked No. 350 by WTA.

Mboko's rise started last August when she defeated Naomi Osaka to win the 2025 Canadian Open.

She took home a Hong Kong Open title last November, then within the last month made it to the final in Strasbourg and the third round at Roland-Garros.

Mboko will now be making her HSBC Championships debut when she pairs up with Williams for the tournament that runs from June 8 to June 14 in London.