'Serena Williams is back': Fans cheer as American ace makes winning return at Eastbourne Doubles

After spending a year on the sidelines, Serena Williams made a triumphant return on Tuesday at the Eastbourne International Doubles, defeating Sara Sorribes Tormo and Marie Bouzkova 2-6, 6-3, 13-11 with partner Ons Jabeur.

Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, was back in action for the first time since her emotional withdrawal from Wimbledon last year.

The 40-year-old hasn't been seen on the court since suffering a leg injury during her Wimbledon 2021 first-round encounter against Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

Williams had been rumoured to be retiring for a while until last week's unexpected news of her return. But, with Wimbledon starting on June 27, the American ace finally resumed her career, playing with Jabeur at the Wimbledon warm-up event by the Sussex seaside.

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In the last-16 match, Williams and third-ranked Tunisian Jabeur beat Sorribes Tormo of Spain and Bouzkova of the Czech Republic.

Williams will be inspired by her first performance in a year, despite being far from her vintage best. In the quarterfinals, she and Jabeur will compete against Chan Hao-ching of Taiwan and Shuko Aoyama of Japan.

As she resumes her attempt to make tennis history, Serena has been handed a wildcard to compete in the Wimbledon singles event. Williams needs just one more Grand Slam victory to tie Australian Margaret Court's record of 24 major singles victories.

The American legend won her 23rd and final Grand Slam singles championship at the 2017 Australian Open. Since then, she has lost four Grand Slam finals, including at Wimbledon in 2018 and 2019. In 2016, Williams captured her eighth and most recent Wimbledon singles title.

Due to her absence from competition, Serena, who became a mother in 2017, has fallen to position 1,204 in the WTA rankings.

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However, her fans are thrilled to see their favourite tennis star back in action, with several stating 'Serena Williams is back' on Twitter following her win on Tuesday.