Serena Williams won her first match in nearly four years, but left the court already thinking about what went wrong. However, Williams did end up walking off the Andy Murray Arena to a standing ovation. The wildcard pairing of her and Victoria Mboko had just defeated third seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe 7-6(2), 6-2 in front of a sold-out crowd at the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club.

Williams showed she still had plenty of her trademark power, hitting services up to 120 mph on a grass court she had not competed on professionally since before her 2022 retirement. The crowd roared at every point. Typically, Williams was thinking about what went wrong. 

“Well, we had a lot of fun. We feel like there’s room for improvement,” she said in the on-court interview. 

Then she got more specific. “I missed that, oh my God. Yeah, or ugh, this is embarrassing.” 

The 44-year-old, who won 23 Grand Slam singles titles in her career, which made women’s tennis what it is today, was not content with her return game. “I need to make some returns next match. I didn’t miss one in practice. But ugh, that was a little embarrassing out there. The good news is I can do better,” she added. 

Mboko, 19, the current world No. 9, gave her own take on that sentiment, but with a bit more colour. 

“There were so many times in the match where we were kinda like, this could be so much better. It was a vibe, and it was also just us being realistic a little bit. Say like, she missed two returns, or I missed two returns, we’d be like, damn, we suck,” she stated. 

Williams had kind words for her partner in return. “I think Vicky is doing great,” she said. Two players, two and a half decades apart, and playing to the same standard. The dynamic was immediately apparent, and it worked. 

The self-criticism masked the match’s true story: dominant stats. Williams and Mboko won 78.3% of their first-serve points and outscored Routliffe and Melichar-Martinez in both service points won, 42 to 37, and return points won, 22 to 19. The first set was tight, with the third seeds coming back from 3-0 down to level at 4-4 before Williams and Mboko took control in the tiebreak, winning it 7-2.

The second set was more straightforward, with an early break at 2-1 and another at 5-2 before Williams closed out the match with the pair’s second ace. They converted three of five break-point opportunities across the match. The figures were fairly impressive for a partnership that was just starting to gel after beginning less than a week ago. 

What comes next for Williams and Mboko

Routliffe (former world No. 1, 2 Grand Slam titles) and Melichar-Martinez (19 WTA titles, 2018 Wimbledon mixed) were no soft draw for Williams and Mboko. What Williams said about her return game and her feelings about it is immaterial, and a win of 7-6(2), 6-2 is respectful against that combination. 

This is vintage Williams: never satisfied, always chasing perfection. She did not win 23 Grand Slam titles by being satisfied with good enough. 

Their next opponents will be Leylah Fernandez and Laura Siegemund, who defeated Alexandra Panova and Demi Schuurs in a three-setter. Fernandez (2021 US Open finalist) and Siegemund (2016 Roland Garros finalist) are considerably tougher than their previous matchup.

Williams and Mboko will face a considerably different test from the one they passed on Tuesday, and Serena has already told them what to expect. The return game will be more defined. 

The American was questioned before the tournament if she would ever return to singles again. She didn’t close the door.  

“I can’t say no right now. I feel like I probably need to train a little bit more if I want to play singles, and we will see if I get there, and if not, that’s not my journey right now.” 

A 120-mph serve and dominant doubles display won’t quiet the singles question. Her own opinion was that she could do more. If they are going to face someone else, it should worry them about what she has produced during her allegedly embarrassing times.