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Serena Williams will play Australia's Maya Joint in the first round at Wimbledon. This match marks the 44-year-old American’s return to Grand Slam singles nearly four years after she retired from tennis.
Williams, who has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles and seven Wimbledon championships, received a wild card to enter the singles draw.
She last played singles at Wimbledon in 2022, losing to Harmony Tan in the first round. Later that year, she lost in the third round of the US Open to Ajla Tomljanovic, which seemed to mark the end of her career. At the time, Williams said she was "evolving away" from tennis.
Williams announced her comeback just before the Queen's Club warm-up event in June, saying she wanted to compete in front of her two young daughters.
She played doubles at Queen's Club in London with Victoria Mboko and won, then played at the Berlin Open with Karolina Muchova, where they lost their first match.
This Wimbledon singles draw is her first time back in individual competition since the 2022 US Open.
Maya Joint is ranked 53rd in the world and is 20 years old. She has won just one of her last 14 matches. If Williams wins her first match, she could play 29th seed Alexandra Eala from the Philippines in the second round.
If Williams wins in the second round, she might face the current champion, Iga Swiatek, in the third round. Swiatek starts her title defense against American Taylor Townsend.
Williams last won a Grand Slam at the 2017 Australian Open. Her most recent appearance in a major final was at the 2019 US Open, where she lost.
It is still unclear if Williams can meet the physical demands of singles competition after being away from the tour for so long. Her doubles matches at Queen's and Berlin do not provide much insight, since doubles and singles require different physical effort.
Williams has not played a Grand Slam singles match in almost four years. Since 2017, she has not won any major titles and has reached only one final.
Williams will also play doubles at Wimbledon with her sister Venus. Together, they have won the doubles title at the All England Club six times.
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