David Quayle received an unexpected call in May while visiting his parents in Wigan, asking him to fly to Florida to prepare Serena Williams for her professional tennis return. The 26-year-old hitting partner, who previously trained with Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon, had to keep the mission completely secret as the tennis world waited for news of her comeback.

Quayle practiced with the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion for over a week at her Florida property, staying alongside former hitting partner Jarmere Jenkins and coach Rennae Stubbs. Despite their previous meeting at the Mouratoglou Academy before the 2018 French Open, Quayle admitted feeling nervous watching her famous serve come directly at him. He described her as still operating at an extremely high level and called her the greatest of all time.

Now Quayle travels to Queen's Club as part of Williams' support team for her doubles partnership with Victoria Mboko. Recent wet weather in London has limited grass court practice, forcing the team to secure indoor venues at Hurlingham Club and the National Tennis Centre. He praised the welcoming atmosphere around Williams, noting their shared sense of humor makes the intense preparation enjoyable.

The partnership continues to Berlin next week for Williams' second comeback tournament, though her Wimbledon participation remains uncertain. Quayle simply feels relieved he no longer has to be vague about his whereabouts now that the secret is public.