Serena Williams Contemplates Her Wimbledon Return
For two weeks following her return to professional tennis at the Queen’s Club, Serena Williams grappled with a significant decision. Having committed to a doubles comeback at age 44 after a four-year hiatus, she faced a deeper question: would she challenge herself again in singles against the world’s top players?
Williams’s choice to accept a singles wildcard at Wimbledon was as last-minute as it seemed. Announced as the final wildcard for the women’s singles draw on Sunday, 21 June, just one day before the qualifying draw, she reflected on her uncertainty:
“I had until Monday to decide. I think it was like Sunday. I just wasn’t sure up until then. Honestly, I’m still not even sure, but we’ll see,”
she said during her pre-tournament press conference.
There is no turning back now. Williams, a 14-time Wimbledon champion across singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, and a two-time Olympic gold medallist at London 2012, will return to Centre Court on Tuesday afternoon to face Australia’s Maya Joint in her first singles match since she "evolved away" from competitive tennis after her 2022 season.
As she intensified her singles training and considered returning to Wimbledon without a singles warm-up event, Williams realized the rarity of the opportunity:
“It’s not every day Wimbledon holds a wildcard for someone. I can name probably a handful of people. I happened to be one of those people. I thought: ‘I should really take this opportunity.’ Who knows if I’ll ever make it here again? This could be it.
“I was like: ‘What’s wrong with me, Serena? What are you thinking? Are you nuts?’ Like: ‘You really should do this.’ People live to be an athlete. I have this great opportunity to showcase what I do, what I do best, I suppose. I think ultimately I was like: ‘That is pretty cool, so I should do it.’”
First-Round Opponent and Draw Analysis
Williams’s opponent, 20-year-old Maya Joint, is nearly 25 years her junior and significantly younger than Williams’s oldest opponent, Larisa Savchenko, born in 1966. As an unseeded player, Williams could have faced top seeds Aryna Sabalenka or Elena Rybakina, but her draw against Joint is relatively favorable. Joint, a grass champion, has struggled this year, losing 13 of her last 14 matches.
Williams’s Motivations and Expectations
Williams admits she is uncertain about her motivations for returning but is managing her expectations carefully. She does not frame this comeback as a pursuit of her 24th Grand Slam title but rather as an opportunity to enjoy professional tennis in a way she previously could not due to pressure:
“My feelings will be different,”
“My expectations are definitely different for the first time in my career. My feelings are just – not that I never enjoyed it before, or else I wouldn’t be here today – but I feel like I’m really going to enjoy being out there.”
Following the Next Generation
During her time away, Williams followed tennis closely and admired emerging players such as Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, and Mirra Andreeva. Andreeva humorously expressed nervousness about potentially facing Williams in the first round during her own press conference. Williams interprets this as a sign of respect and acknowledges the challenge of facing an opponent whose game evolution is unknown:
“It’s like the big four coming back. I mean, Novak [Djokovic] is still here, but no one would want to play them in their first round. I can’t think of anyone that would want to do that.
“I just think that’s an immense amount of respect, which is yet another reason why I love her [Andreeva]. Also just natural feelings. Especially at a grand slam, you want to warm up, you want to play someone. No one knows how my game may or may not have evolved, what to expect, don’t know much. Those types of opponents are always very difficult to play.”
Preparation and Dedication
Williams has dedicated herself to rigorous practice sessions, working with more players than ever before to prepare for her singles return. This commitment has been noted by fellow players, including Novak Djokovic, who remarked:
“I see her in the gym more than I have, I think, seen her when she was at her prime. It tells me that she really wants this to work out the best way possible. It’s admirable, honestly, the effort she’s putting in.”
Facing the Media and Future Prospects
Williams also expressed surprise at returning to press conferences, an aspect she had not anticipated revisiting after her evolution away from tennis:
“I never thought I’d be back here sitting in front of this. We all know how I feel about this. So I never thought I would do this again,”
“All the above. When I evolved [from tennis], I had never thought I’d come back.”
