Serena Williams has expanded her highly anticipated return to professional tennis, adding a second grass-court tournament to her schedule as speculation mounts regarding a potential Wimbledon appearance.

The 44-year-old will make her comeback next week in London, partnering Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko in the doubles at the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club.

It was confirmed on Friday that Williams will also compete in doubles at the Berlin Tennis Open, commencing on 15 June, though her partner for that event is yet to be announced.

Game, set and match! A very solid opening win on the grass for Emma Raducanu, who beats Anna Blinkova 6-0 6-3 to reach the second round. A backhand winner down the line seals it, greeted by a wide smile.

The second set was more of a tussle, with the breeze picking up and making serving a little tougher, but Raducanu maintained an aggressive approach and was able to get her first-strike in play often enough.

In the second round, Raducanu is likely to play Romania’s seventh seed Sorana Cirstea, who recently reached the French Open quarter-finals.

“Back Home” Raducanu writes on the court-side camera.

Blinkova nets on the backhand exchange before Raducanu holds her hand up in apology as the ball drops in on break point. The British No 1 will now serve for a place in the seocnd round.

Suddenly we’re all square in the second set. Blinkova hits a backhand winner down the line and follows it with an ace out wide on game point.

Blinkova must have heard that talk of a ‘double-bagel’. She hits back, advancing into the net on break point after directing a backhand down the line and putting away a tidy volley. She roars after getting on the board at last.

Raducanu might be starting to smell a double-bagel... She directs another fierce backhand return down the line and Blinkova, looking completely overwhelmed, hits out.

Raducanu skips back to her seat after advancing into the net and dispatching the volley to seal the third break of the match and take the opening set 6-0. She was on the wrong end of a 6-0 in her last match at the French Open, but looks a completely different player on the grass-courts as she takes on the ball early and without hesitation.

Raducanu is back out into the sunshine and is continuing to take an aggressive approach into her first-round match against the qualifier Anna Blinkova. The first serve is working well, leading to the early forehand strike. She breaks again and holds to look at a healthy 5-0 lead.

Victoria Mboko has described Serena Williams as her “idol” and confirmed that the 23-time grand slam champion, despite almost four years away from a competitive match, is still “hitting great”.

“She has such clean ball striking, she could probably take years off, and when she steps on the court she could probably find that rhythm again and find her timing. So I think that’s really a god-given gift that she has,” Mboko said.

“I personally think she’s ready to go. I’m hitting with her, she’s hitting pretty big and she’s really fit, so we’ll see.”

The sun is back out in west London. Raducanu will be back on court from 12:50pm and hoping there are no further interruptions.