Serena Williams, 44, is set for a surprise comeback at Wimbledon after receiving a wild card into the women’s singles draw, where she was given the final place in the main bracket. She has also already been awarded a wild card for the doubles event, where she will team up with her older sister Venus Williams.
The return comes after Williams resumed competitive play earlier this month following a four-year absence, and she has already played two doubles matches. Asked recently whether she was considering a singles return at Wimbledon, she smiled and replied, “Do you think I am ready for singles? I need to start working.”
Williams is one of the greatest players in tennis history. She won Wimbledon singles titles seven times, in 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016, and owns 14 Wimbledon titles overall, including six women’s doubles crowns and one mixed doubles title. She has 23 Grand Slam singles titles, one short of Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24, spent 319 weeks as world No. 1, and won 73 WTA singles titles. She also completed a career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles.
Her last Wimbledon singles appearance was in 2022, when she entered on a wild card and came within two points of beating Harmony Tan before losing in a third-set tiebreak. Her last singles win at Wimbledon came in 2019, when she reached the final and lost to Simona Halep. Williams has never formally announced retirement, and after the 2022 U.S. Open, what was then seen as her final match, she said she was “evolving away” from tennis. She said one of her main reasons for returning is wanting her two daughters to see her play. Her eldest, Olympia, was born in 2017, and her second daughter, Adira, was born in 2023.
