Serena Williams makes winning return but remains coy about long-term plans

The long-awaited return of Serena Williams began in the humble, quiet surrounds of a private tennis club in Eastbourne. After arriving in the UK within days of announcing her return to tennis, Williams opted to keep a low profile. She remained off-site even as the tournament began. She refused to conduct a single press conference.

As she trained with Frances Tiafoe on Sunday at Meads Tennis Club, her first spectators were the passers-by who just so happened to glance down at the club from the hilly road and, to their audible shock, saw one of the most famous athletes in the world staring up at them.

On Tuesday afternoon Williams finally entered the grounds of the Eastbourne International and alongside Ons Jabeur she made a winning return in her first match after a one‑year layoff. After a rusty start, the pair recovered from a set and a break down to defeat Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-2, 3-6, 13-11.

It was not until Tuesday afternoon that Williams and Jabeur met as partners and trained together for the first time and it showed. Aspects of Williams’s game were naturally coated with rust after such a long layoff and Jabeur, in the singles form of her life, is less sure on the doubles court. They were flattened early on by their solid, assertive opponents. But as the match endured Williams steadily improved. Her serve rose to its formidable best and those essential little steps around the ball returned.

After trailing a break, Williams served out the second set with a vintage play. First she uncorked an angled backhand passing shot winner while on the run, punctuating her shot with an elongated grunt, then she shut the door with a cold-blooded ace.

As the tiebreak began, Williams had awoken and she was rock