Serena Williams Announces Return To Tennis

Serena Williams is returning from retirement to play doubles tennis at the HSBC Championship in London. Welcoming the news, the tournament stated, "THE QUEEN RETURNS." Williams is seen here at last month's Met Gala in New York. (Photo: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

Tennis superstar Serena Williams has announced her official return to professional tennis. Williams announced Monday that she has accepted a wild-card invitation to play doubles in next week's HSBC Championships, a 500-level event held at Queen's Club in London.

"Queen's Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter," Williams said in an announcement from the tournament. "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."

Serena has won 73 career singles titles, four Olympic gold medals and has spent 319 weeks at No. 1 in the WTA rankings. She has won 14 major doubles titles alongside sister Venus and is the only player to record a career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles.

Official reports of Williams' return come roughly six months after news outlets reported that she had placed her name back into tennis' anti-doping system. Williams will play under a wild card entry in the doubles bracket that kicks off on June 8.