As “What A Feeling” boomed around Devonshire Park, Serena Williams strode onto center court at Eastbourne to a standing ovation for her first competitive tennis match in nearly a year.
Around 90 minutes later, fans were on their feet again, celebrating a comeback win for the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion at the Wimbledon warmup event on England’s south coast.
Williams partnered Ons Jabeur to victory over Sara Sorribes Tormo and Marie Bouzkova in the first round of the women’s doubles on Tuesday. Williams and Jabeur recovered from losing the first set 6-2 to win the second 6-3 and then the match tiebreaker 13-11 on their third match point.
“I caught some fire behind me,” the 40-year-old Williams said. “I needed that. It was good.”
The win means Williams will have at least one more competitive match before playing singles at Wimbledon as a wild-card entry. Main-draw play at the
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