Serena Williams will partner Karolina Muchova at the Berlin Open as the 23-time Grand Slam champion rebounds to 593rd in the doubles rankings. tennis news

Serena Williams will partner Karolina Muchova at this week’s Berlin Open – live on Sky Sports – with the 23-time Grand Slam champion re-debuting at 593 in the doubles rankings.

The return of Williams HSBC Championship at Queen’s Club Her doubles partner Victoria Mboko ended prematurely after being forced to withdraw with a left knee injury.

After almost four years away, Williams will continue her comeback in Berlin – live on Sky Sports Tennis at 4.30pm on Tuesday – and could seek a wildcard for the Wimbledon Championships.

The 44-year-old American great will partner world number 10 Karolina Muchova in women’s doubles against Juliana Olmos and Erin Routliff with the match scheduled for Tuesday at Steffi Graf Stadion.

The winner of this clash will face third seeds Melichar-Martinez and Sara Errani or Chinese duo Jiang Jinyu and Xu Yifan in the second round while top seeds Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunic await in the semi-finals.

Second seeds Elise Mertens and Zhang Shuai headline the draw in the bottom half of the draw and they open their campaign against Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls with fourth seeds Ellen Perez and Demi Schuers semi-final opponents.

“Every tournament I add to my schedule now feels special, and Berlin is no exception,” the American said of playing in Berlin.

“I’m excited to compete in front of the German fans and build momentum throughout the grass-court season.”

Neither Williams nor the All England Club has confirmed whether she will play at Wimbledon later this month.

“It’s just one day at a time,” Williams said of playing the third major of the season. “I still have a little bit of time to make a decision, and they’ve been great about giving me that space and time to make a decision.”

Murray ruled on Williams’ return

Judy Murray said Williams played at an “incredibly high level” at Queen’s and was impressed with her performance.

“I’m not sure anyone expected him to come back in retirement, I think it was back in 2022,” he said. Sky Sports.

“She’s got her two kids now, but she’s been playing loads; she’s obviously got herself in really good shape, fit, ready to compete again.

“I guess he probably missed it a lot too.

“I saw a clip where he was saying that it was really important to him that his kids saw him play, so they knew who he was and what he did.

“I absolutely loved that her husband and her kids were courtside and greeted her when she came on.

“But she showed she is still playing at an incredibly high level, playing doubles with Victoria Mboko at the WTA event in Queens and winning her first match!

“And the huge crowd support there, and the huge fan base behind her, it’s fantastic, another mum successfully getting back into the game, brilliant.”

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