Serena Williams has built a career on certainty, authority and control.
This time, however, her return to Wimbledon carries a different tone. The 44-year-old has accepted a wild-card entry into the singles draw, but she has also made it clear that the decision was not simple.
A late call to play singles
According to TV 2 Sport, citing Ritzau and AFP, Williams admitted that she was still unsure about the comeback shortly before the tournament.
“I had until Monday to decide. I wasn’t sure until then. To be honest, I’m still not sure, but we’ll see,” she said.
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The American is due to play her first singles match at the All England Club since 2022 on Tuesday, when she faces Australia’s Maya Joint on Centre Court.
It will also be her first top-level singles match since the US Open in 2022, after which she stepped away from the sport without using the word retirement.
A familiar court, a different Serena
Williams’ record at Wimbledon remains one of the great chapters in modern tennis.
She has won the singles title seven times, first in 2002 and most recently in 2016. Across her career, she has collected 23 Grand Slam singles titles and 73 singles titles overall.
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Alongside her sister Venus Williams, she has also won six Wimbledon doubles titles.
But this return comes at a very different stage of her life and career. Williams gave birth to her first daughter in 2017 and her second in 2023, and she is no longer listed in the singles rankings after her long absence from the tour.
Her comeback began earlier this month in doubles, but a Grand Slam singles draw is a far greater test.
Maya Joint waits on Centre Court
Williams opens against 20-year-old Maya Joint, one of the younger names on the WTA Tour.
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Joint is ranked No. 53 in the world and has already won two WTA singles titles, including the grass-court event in Eastbourne last year. For Williams, it is a first-round match loaded with attention. For Joint, it is the kind of occasion few players experience so early in their careers.
Still, Williams appears to be approaching the match with a mindset rarely associated with her peak years, when anything short of the title often felt like a disappointment.
“My expectations are definitely different for the first time in my career. I feel like I’m going to have fun out there,” she said.
That does not remove the uncertainty around her level, her movement or her ability to handle the demands of singles tennis again.
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But it does make this Wimbledon return something more unusual than a standard comeback. Serena Williams is stepping back onto one of tennis’ most famous courts not with guarantees, but with curiosity.
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