Serena Williams wins first match back in the Eastbourne International doubles event

Serena Williams made a return to the tennis courts at the Eastbourne International this week and she has now won her first match.

Williams announced not too long ago that she would be playing at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, which was supposed to be her first singles event in a year.

The last time Williams stood on a tennis court before that was at the 2021 Wimbledon. She was playing against Aliaksandra Sasnovich when she slipped and injured herself, having to retire at 3-3 in the opening set.

Fans haven’t seen her compete since then and this year’s Wimbledon was supposed to be her first singles event back. To prepare for that comeback at Wimbledon, Williams elected to play some doubles tennis at the Eastbourne International, which takes place in the week before Wimbledon.

To help her prepare, she enlisted the help of Ons Jabeur, who she considers a friend. Jabeur was stunned by the offer and while she didn’t have plans of playing in Eastbourne, she couldn’t say no and elected to have a childhood dream of hers fulfilled.

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They have now played their first match together, and it proved a winning effort. Their opponents proved to be a real challenge, as they faced Sara Sorribes Tormo and Marie Bouzkova, players who are not only great singles players but also great doubles players.

They’re a tricky combo to beat on the doubles court, but Williams and Jabeur were able to beat them. It was an exciting match because they needed a comeback to win.

They lost the first set 2-6 but then won the next one 6-4 and the final-set match tie-break 13-11, which was a nail-biter. Now, Williams and Jabeur will get another chance to play which will be ideal for the American legend as she needs matches ahead of her singles comeback.

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