Serena stumped in her return to competition

Serena Williams had said her return to tennis this weekend at the Fed Cup would represent the “start of a long process.” Her first match in more than a year showed how far she has to go.

In Williams’s first competition since giving birth five months ago, she and her sister Venus lost 6-2, 6-3 to Lesley Kerkhove and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands in a Fed Cup doubles match Sunday.

The United States already had clinched a victory in the best-offive event thanks to a pair of singles victories by Venus Williams, so this doubles loss merely narrowed the final score to 3-1. The U.S. advanced to a World Cup semifinal April 21 and 22 hosted by France, which defeated Belgium 3-2 on the weekend.

But this event was most notable for the return of Serena, who hadn’t played competitive tennis since winning the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant for her 23rd career grand slam singles title, one off Margaret Court’s record.

Serena Williams’s daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., was wearing a headband with an American flag design while sitting with her father, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, just behind the players’ bench.

Williams told Vogue magazine she developed several small blood clots in her lungs after her daughter was born. The article said she was unable to get out of bed for the first six weeks after giving birth.

Her doubles match revealed the effects of her long time away from the game.

Before the doubles match started, the U.S. team celebrated its triumph. Lauren Davis joined the Williams sisters and CoCo Vandeweghe for a victory lap around the court.

In other Fed Cup action this weekend, the Czech Republic beat Switzerland 3-1 and Germany beat Belarus 3-2.

Germany will host the Czech Republic in the other Fed Cup semifinal.