Serena Williams has taken the first visible step in her return to competition at the HSBC Championships, appearing on the Queen’s Club practice court ahead of the tournament. Williams accepted a wild card into the doubles draw at Queen’s Club and will partner WTA world No. 9 Victoria Mboko for what will be her first professional match since the 2022 US Open.

The move followed earlier reports that Williams had re-entered the International Tennis Integrity Association’s anti-doping testing pool, a necessary procedural step that included a six-month cooling period. Williams was officially eligible to compete as of February 22, though she had not specified when she planned to resume playing in tour events.

Her hiatus began after a third-round loss to Ajla Tomljanovic at the 2022 US Open, a period during which she said she “evolved” away from the tour. Rumors of a comeback gathered momentum once she returned to testing, and the decision to accept a doubles wild card confirmed that her return would begin at Queen’s Club.

In the weeks before the announcement Williams maintained a high level of on-court preparation, practicing intensely in Florida alongside WTA players such as Alycia Parks. Her appearance on the practice court at the HSBC Championships was her first on-site session ahead of the event and marks the next chapter in a carefully managed re-entry to professional competition.

The doubles entry in London will be Williams’s first pro-level match in nearly four years and will pair her with Mboko, giving fans and observers a first look at how Williams performs in match conditions after an extended absence.

The most talked-about statements at Roland Garros this year arrived before rallies began, as players turned the walk from tunnel to baseline into a deliberate fashion moment. Cameras trained on entrants have made the pre-match entrance one of the tournament’s most visible stages.

Naomi Osaka delivered the tournament’s defining wardrobe story during her run to the fourth round, combining a sequined Nike tennis dress with couture-inspired outer pieces by Swiss designer Kevin Germanier. The creations, built from upcycled Nike garments, included a black beaded jacket, a floor-length skirt and a detachable white tulle train. “If I had to give a short answer, the outfit is a nod to France, to Parisian couture, and sustainability,”

“…The designer that we did end up pairing with just kind of spoke our same language.” Osaka mixed and matched those elements across matches to create a recurring “court-ure” theme.

Novak Djokovic marked his record-tying 22nd Roland Garros appearance with a bespoke Lacoste jacket from creative director Pelagia Kolotouros. The piece, inspired by the colours and textures of the terre-battue, incorporated real clay detailing and featured a prominent wolf graphic across the back, a motif the 24-time Grand Slam champion has long embraced.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka paired a black-and-red Nike dress with prominent accessories from sponsor Material Good, a collection of jewellery that included 23 carats of diamonds and 120 carats of garnets across necklaces and earrings. During Paris’s heat wave cameras captured her pressing a Shark ChillPill personal fan to her face during a changeover.

Coco Gauff followed last year’s leather-jacket moment with two New Balance walk-on looks, each pairing a white bodysuit and mesh-overlay dress in charcoal or pink along with matching headbands and wristbands. Mirra Andreeva and Sorana Cirstea also embraced pink tones. Jannik Sinner appeared in head-to-toe blue from Nike’s 2026 Roland Garros collection with his Gucci x Head bag, while Andrey Rublev and Matteo Berrettini opted for blue shades. Other players displayed brand statements as well, with appearances from Madison Keys, Moise Kouame, Alexander Zverev, Elina Svitolina, Victoria Mboko, Marta Kostyuk, Joao Fonseca and Iga Swiatek.

Matteo Arnaldi advanced to his maiden Grand Slam semifinal at Roland Garros after Matteo Berrettini retired with a left-leg problem while trailing 7-5, 5-2. Berrettini appeared to struggle early in the second set and could not continue after exactly two hours on court.

“It’s a tough one,” Arnaldi said in his on-court interview. “We both played a lot so it’s normal not to be at our best, but you never wish someone to end the tournament like this.”

Arnaldi arrived at the quarterfinal having spent a record 17 hours and 42 minutes on court en route to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, the most time on court to reach a major quarterfinal since the ATP began recording match times in 1991. He won his first two rounds in four sets and his last two in five, and on Wednesday he received a partial reprieve from another long contest.

“I’m tired, that’s for sure, but you know I train and I play tennis to play these kinds of tournaments, these kinds of matches, so I’m trying to give it all that I’ve got,” he said. “Obviously today I was a little bit more tired than usual. I wasn’t as fast as I think I was in the first match. But I’m here and I’m enjoying to play tennis again—I was injured until not that long ago, so I’m happy to be here and give all I have.”

Before this week Arnaldi had never been past the fourth round of a major, having reached the fourth round at the US Open in 2023 and at Roland Garros in 2024. “It’s unbelievable to be honest. I still can’t believe it,” he said of the achievement. “If I think what I was a month ago, I was almost No. 150 in the world and played the Challenger in Cagliari, now I trained how I wanted and now I’m here. I’m just happy to be here and happy to play these matches again.”

Currently ranked No. 104, Arnaldi is projected to rise to No. 34 by reaching the semifinals, according to the ATP’s official live rankings; his career-high is No. 30, which he would surpass with one more win here.

Up next is countryman and No. 10 seed Flavio Cobolli, who earlier upset No. 4 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. The pair are 1-1 at tour level. Cobolli won their meeting at Roland Garros last year, 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-1, while Arnaldi prevailed in Umag in 2023, 6-3, 7-6 (5). The two have also met three times below tour level, with Arnaldi winning twice.

“We’re going to spend a lot of time together. It’s normal for us,” Arnaldi said of his countryman. “We always train together and stay together. We played here last year—he won in four—but we’ve played many times before.

“Hopefully it’s going to be a good fight, and a good match.”