US tennis great Serena Williams, on the comeback trail nearly four years after retiring, will partner Czech Karolina Muchova in the doubles at next week's Berlin Open grass court tournament.
"We're going to play doubles. I'm pretty excited about it.
"It doesn't happen every day that such an amazing athlete, not only in tennis but overall in sports, asks you to play tennis with her. I hope it's going to be fun," Muchova told a press conference in Berlin on Saturday.
Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, had retired after the 2022 US Open.
On Tuesday, the 44-year-old won her first doubles match at the Queen's Club in London alongside Canadian Victoria Mboko.
Mboko then injured her left knee, forcing her to retire from the singles and the doubles.
Serena Williams after winning her 1st match back in 4 years with Vicky Mboko
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 9, 2026
"Why now? Why here? What is to come?"
Serena: "I mean, I don’t know. I had nothing better to do. I got tired of sitting at home."
😭😭😭😭pic.twitter.com/VLSJUEK8sg
The 29-year-old Muchova, ranked 10th in the world, was runner-up at the 2023 French Open singles tournament.
The Berlin Open serves as a warm-up for Wimbledon from July 1st to 14th.
