Serena Williams is officially back on a tennis court, and fans are already excited about what comes next. The 23-time Grand Slam champion was seen at Queen’s Club in London on Thursday as she prepared for her first tournament since stepping away from professional tennis in 2022. The 44-year-old American shocked the sports world last week when she announced her return to competition after nearly four years away from the tour.Williams will play women’s doubles at next week’s HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club. She has received a wildcard entry and will team up with Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko. Their appearance could also be the first step toward a possible return to Wimbledon, which begins on June 29.Before practice, Williams and Mboko posed for photos on the grass courts. Mboko later shared her excitement on social media, writing: “The Queen is back. 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.”Serena Williams and Victoria Mboko begin Queen’s Club partnership as tennis stars react to comebackThe return marks a new chapter for Williams, who has not played a competitive match since losing in the third round of the 2022 US Open. At that time, she avoided using the word retirement and instead said she was “evolving away” from tennis.When she announced her comeback last week, Williams shared a video of herself on court while notifications appeared on her phone. The clip included the message: “Guess everybody heard the news.”In a statement released through tournament organizers, Williams said: “Queen’s Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter.”She added: “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.”The comeback has already drawn reactions from some of the biggest names in tennis. Speaking at the French Open, Naomi Osaka said: “I don’t really care about tennis. I think it’s good for me. I’ll be very entertained.”Osaka continued: “I think it will bring people to watch tennis, which she always does bring an audience with her. So I think it’s good.”She also added: “I’m going to be tuned into the first match, for sure. I think a lot of people are. Everyone knows Serena and Venus were my role models growing up, so it’s going to be cool to see her on the grounds again.”Meanwhile, Coco Gauff said: “I did say one of my biggest regrets was not being able to play her.”Gauff added: “Everybody has been hearing rumours and stuff. So, if they are true, I guess we’ll find out in a couple days based off the rumours. We’ll see, but I think it would be cool for this sport to have a legend back playing.”