Serena Williams in 'absurd' scenes on return to tennis as Katie Boulter springs huge shock

Serena Williams has left the tennis world in awe after marking her first competitive match in four years with a fairytale comeback win at Queen's. On an eventful day in London, Katie Boulter powered to a massive upset win over Canadian eighth-seed Layla Fernandez, while Australia's only female competitor in the grass court tournament - Maddison Inglis - crashed out.

All eyes were on American legend Williams though, as the 44-year-old mother-of-two made a triumphant return to the sport she's dominated for the majority of this century. The 23-time major champion teamed up with Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko in the doubles and the pair stormed to a dominant win over third seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe, 7-6 (7-2) 6-2.

Williams was treated to a standing ovation as she entered the court for a first professional match since the 2022 US Open when was famously bundled out by Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round. And the packed crowd at Queen's wasn't disappointed as the American legend put on a dazzling show for her legion of supporters.

With daughters Olympia and Adira, and husband Alexis watching from the stands, Williams seemed unaffected by her long break from the sport after coming out swinging with Mboko. The pair won the first two games after an early break, with Williams heating up to a blistering 182km/h in her first service game.

Serena Williams wows fans in fairytale win on return

She dropped her second game on serve despite clocking 191km/h, before dishing up one of the moments of the match at 4-4 in the opening stanza. Williams showed elite reflexes to pounce on an overhead smash, and seal the go-ahead game with an 'absurd' two-hand backhand winner that sent fans into a frenzy.

Williams and Mboko rode the momentum to claim the first set in a tiebreaker, before upping the ante in a dominant second stanza to seal a memorable win. "It was so much fun, it felt so ‌natural playing with Vicky," a delighted Williams said on court. "I guess I've got nothing better to do, I'm tired of sitting at home, my kids are out of school this summer so why not?" Williams is yet to confirm whether she’ll play at Wimbledon.

Katie Boulter score upset win over eighth seed at Queen’s

Elsewhere, Alex de Minaur's fiancee Boulter pulled off the shock of the day by coming from a set down to bundle out eighth seed Fernandez, 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-5. The highlight of Boulter's win over the former US Open finalist came during a tense deciding set when she claimed a 19-stroke rally to seize the momentum.

While Inglis - Australia's only woman in the singles main draw at Queen's - went down to seventh-seeded Sorana Cirstea in three sets. The Romanian World No.18 - who was coming off a French Open last-eight defeat to eventual champion Mirra Andreeva - proved too strong for the Aussie in a 6-4 5-7 6-2 win.

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