Serena Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, will team up with Czech player Karolina Muchova at the Berlin Open, marking another step in her comeback to tennis. The 44-year-old American tennis star made her return to the sport earlier this week at Queen's, partnering 14-year-old British player Victoria Mboko in the women's doubles. The pair made a winning start, upsetting third seeds Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez in straight sets, but had to withdraw from their quarter-final after Mboko suffered a nasty fall in her singles tie.
Muchova, 29, is a talented player with a strong record in women's singles, having reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon on two occasions. She currently sits 10th in the WTA rankings. Speaking at a press conference in Berlin on Saturday, Muchova expressed her excitement about partnering Williams, saying: 'I'm pretty excited about it. It doesn't happen every day that such an amazing athlete, not only in tennis but overall in sport, asks you to play tennis with her. I hope it's going to be fun.'
Meanwhile, Mboko has been ruled out of the remainder of the grass-court season, including Wimbledon, due to a medial collateral ligament injury in her left knee. She expressed her disappointment at missing the opportunity to play at Wimbledon, saying: 'Unfortunately, my fall on Wednesday caused an injury to the MCL in my left knee. I had been so looking forward to playing [Wimbledon] this year.'