In the past two weeks, Serena Williams has used every means at her disposal to ensure that her comeback to pro tennis has been anything but ordinary. The announcement teasers, the wildcard at Queen’s Club, the possibility of Wimbledon hovering over everything. On Tuesday, she added another chapter.  

“Let me introduce my new team through trading cards,” she wrote on social media, and four superhero-themed player cards dropped one by one, each representing a member of the squad she has assembled for the comeback.

The highlight of the roster is Jarmere Jenkins, introduced on his card as Head Coach. To those who have followed Williams closely throughout her career, the name is self-explanatory. In late 2017, Jenkins was brought into her team as a hitting partner via a connection that extends much deeper than tennis. His older brother Jermaine is the long-time hitting partner of Venus Williams, and when Serena needed someone new after returning from maternity leave, Venus pointed the family directly towards Jarmere.

He was in the box for five years, and he spent some of Williams’ defining years watching the matches from the sidelines with Patrick Mouratoglou. Jenkins had a peak singles ranking of 190 and never made it to the main draw of a Grand Slam in his playing career, but what he brought to Williams’ team was not his own results. It was strength, speed, and his knowledge of her training and thoughts on a tennis court. The knowledge that has been gained in five years is now graduating into the head coaching position. It’s an important promotion, and it’s a big sign of faith. 

Alongside him is Rennae Stubbs, listed as Assistant Coach on her trading card. Stubbs was Williams’ coach for the 2022 US Open, the final tournament of her playing career before retirement. The former Australian player held the world No. 1 doubles ranking and won 60 doubles titles during her career, including four Grand Slam doubles titles. 

Her record of coaching since she retired from the tour in 2011 is equally impressive. She has coached Karolina Pliskova, Samantha Stosur and Eugenie Bouchard, with Stosur winning the 2021 US Open doubles title under her guidance. The fact that Stubbs is back with Williams is not a surprise. T

he two did make some headway in the final weeks at Flushing Meadows in 2022, even if the outcome was a third-round finish, and her doubles prowess has obvious parallels with what Williams is returning to do. The wildcard invitation at Queen’s Club is for doubles. It is not a random selection, but a coach who has won 4 Grand Slam doubles titles and was world No. 1 in her career. 

Derick Pierson, Williams’ fitness trainer, is the third card on the list, and he says he’s committed to helping her be her best on a daily basis. At 44 and returning to professional competition after nearly four years away, the physical preparation piece of this comeback is arguably the most scrutinized. It will be a challenge to bring a body that hasn’t played at this level since the 2022 US Open back to the level that it can compete at Wimbledon fortnight, and the person that Williams has trusted with this task is Pierson.

The last, the final card of the set, is just the right end to this; all the superhero stats are unique for each member, and they’ve each got their own quote, it’s all pure Williams in creativity and confidence. 

Who Serena and Mboko face at Queen’s Club

The draw has certainly not been kind to Serena Williams and her partner, Victoria Mboko, for their first match. The wildcard team has been drawn against third seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe in the opening round of the HSBC Championships. 

Routliffe, who was a doubles world No. 1, has won two Grand Slam doubles titles and advanced to the 2024 Wimbledon final alongside longtime partner Gabriela Dabrowski. Melichar-Martinez has won 19 WTA doubles titles and captured the Wimbledon mixed doubles crown in 2018. It’s an intimidating first assignment for a new wildcard partnership that’s just been working together for a few days. 

There is one detail that complicates the seeding, however. Despite their credentials, Melichar-Martinez and Routliffe are making their first tournament appearance as a team. Melichar-Martinez spent much of the season partnering Cristina Bucsa before the Spaniard’s withdrawal from Queen’s Club due to injury, while Routliffe has teamed with several partners in 2026.

While two top doubles players forming a team is a potentially lethal partnership, it also means Williams and Mboko are not facing a unit with months of rhythm and familiarity under their belt. 

Williams has been candid about the state of the partnership. “I’ve hit with Vicky twice, and today I felt a lot better off the ground. I felt better everywhere,” she said. “I saw her in Montreal last year. I was impressed with her game and her attitude. What I most liked about her was that the next time she played, she kept winning. It reminded me a lot of myself.” 

The match is scheduled to begin no earlier than 5:30 pm local time. Williams has made it abundantly clear this week that it’s not about the results. But against two of the best doubles players in the world, the first examination of where her game actually is will be a thorough one.