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Break point Melichar-Martinez/Routliffe

*Mboko/Williams 4-2 Melichar-Martinez/Routliffe

Work to do for Serena Williams, down 15-30 on serve.

Boom! The American follows up a first serve by unleashing a ferocious volley to level the game.

She can't quite get to a drop shot in time, however, and will face a break point here.

Routliffe holds serve

*Mboko/Williams 4-2 Melichar-Martinez/Routliffe

Great hustling at the net by Serena Williams and she eventually gets the point to begin making inroads on Erin Routliffe's serve.

They recover to 40-30 with back-to-back points, but the New Zealander gets the hold after a dizzying back-and-forth involving all four players. Great stuff.

The TV camera pans around Andy Murray Arena. There isn't a spare seat in the house, while the players' balcony is also packed.

Mboko holds serve

Mboko/Williams 4-1 Melichar-Martinez/Routliffe*

Victoria Mboko is looking super solid from the back of the court here and is putting far too much on some of these groundstrokes for her opponents to handle.

The 19-year-old certainly doesn't appear to have any nerves despite the global attention on this match, and she gets another high-five from team-mate Serena Williams after the American seals another game with a big smash.

Williams holds serve

Mboko/Williams 3-0 Melichar-Martinez/Routliffe*

There's still a whole lot of power behind that serve, let me tell you!

The 44-year-old Serena Williams nets to set up a pressure point at 15-30, but a 105 mile-per-hour serve helps her restore parity.

And how about that! A 113mph serve down the centre gets the crowd very excited, before Victoria Mboko wraps up the game with a smash.

Like she's never been away...

Mboko holds serve

Mboko/Williams 1-0 Melichar-Martinez/Routliffe*

It is Victoria Mboko who will serve first in this match.

Both the Canadian and Serena Williams miss volleys at the net to leave them 15-30 down, but Williams' doesn't miss on the next couple!

The crowd are cheering each winner she hits louder and louder. Goodness knows what they'll be like an hour or so down the line.

'She's been around forever'

Emily Salley

BBC Sport at Queen's

Janet, Carolyn and Jo have travelled from Oxford and they're soaking up the sun, as well as some Pimms, at Queen's today.

Janet said Williams is a "character" that "brings so much personality to the game, while Jo added: "She's just a legend in terms of tennis, she's just been there forever."

"A bit like we have," Carolyn jokes back.

Can she win this evening? "We're split over that," says Janet. "I think she'll be great, she'll be brilliant."

'Williams has stolen the headlines'

Annabel Croft

Former British number one on BBC TV

Serena Williams has totally stolen the headlines.

I can honestly say I never, ever dreamt in my wildest dreams that we would see her back out competing on a tennis court professionally again.

I'm intrigued as to where this is going to go. Four years is a long time out, she had a huge send-off at the US Open and her body was really hurting. She hasn't won a Grand Slam in singles since 2017. That's a very long time.

I guess Serena's right. Why not? I mean, it's certainly giving us something to talk about and something to really look forward to.

I'm very excited about seeing her out there.

Williams has 'nothing to prove' on return

Serena Williams says she has "nothing to prove" on her return to competitive tennis.

Her main motivation for taking that decision is the prospect of her daughters seeing her play again.

Williams gave birth to Olympia, now aged eight, in 2017 and went on to reach four major singles finals after returning to tennis a few months later. Her second daughter, Adira, was born in 2023 and has never seen her mother play on the tour.

But the American said she was not putting any pressure on herself as she returns to the sport that she dominated for so many years.

"I've had enough pressure. It's really about my kids getting to see me play," Williams said.

"It's also that being an athlete is the best thing that you can be in the highest place. Having an opportunity to still be able to possibly do that one last time is kind of cool and exciting."

'We saw her practising at Wimbledon at 14-years-old'

Emily Salley

BBC Sport at Queen's

Brian and Jill from Sussex have got the hottest tickets in town.

They are "very excited" to see Serena Williams play this evening. Although this won't be the first time they've watched the 23-time Grand Slam champion...

"We saw her when she was a very young girl at Wimbledon so it will be very nice to see her again," Jill said.

Brian added: "She was about 14 and her father had her out on the court practicing."

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