Serena Williams partners with sister, Venus, in return to tennis at Fed Cup

Serena Williams partners with sister, Venus, in return to tennis at Fed Cup. ASHEVILLE, N.C. — New mom Serena Williams made her official, if inconsequential, return to tennis by partnering with sister, Venus, in a doubles match that didn’t count toward the end result of the USA’s first-round Fed Cup win against the Netherlands on Sunday. Venus had already clinched the encounter for Team USA, the Fed Cup reigning champions, by winning the necessary third point of the weekend with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Richel Hogenkamp in the first match of the day. The Americans earned two points Saturday when Venus defeated Arantxa Rus in straight sets, and CoCo Vandeweghe outlasted Hogenkamp in three sets. There was hope, probably misguided, ahead of the weekend that Serena would suit up and play singles for the team. But a quick glance at her practice session Friday revealed the 23-time Grand Slam champion was not quite ready for prime time after more than a year away from competition. Her only other on-court appearance was a one-match exhibition in Abu Dhabi in late December.