Serena Williams’ long-awaited return to singles tennis ended in defeat, but not without a reminder of the competitive fire that made her one of the greatest players the sport has seen.
The 44-year-old American was back on Centre Court at Wimbledon on Tuesday for her first singles match since the 2022 US Open.
It did not end with victory.
According to TV 2 Sport, Williams was beaten by 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint in the first round after a three-set battle.
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A comeback with familiar fight
Williams looked rusty at times, which was hardly surprising after almost four years away from singles competition.
But she still showed the power and stubbornness that defined so much of her career.
After losing the opening set, Williams fought her way into a second-set tiebreak and kept the match alive. She then forced a deciding set, giving the Centre Court crowd a comeback story that briefly looked as if it might become something bigger.
According to The Guardian, Joint eventually won 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 after outlasting Williams in the final set.
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Joint keeps her nerve
For Joint, this was the biggest win of her young career.
Facing Serena Williams at Wimbledon is not a normal first-round assignment, even when Williams is far removed from her peak years. The name, the crowd and the occasion all carried weight.
Joint handled it.
After the match, she admitted how difficult it had been to process the moment.
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“I didn’t get much sleep last night,” she said, according to The Guardian. “I was up to 2am thinking about it. Walking out, I forgot the warm-up, I don’t know what happened. My legs weren’t moving.”
She then added: “She has such an aura, she is such a legend.”
Serena is not finished at Wimbledon
The defeat ends Williams’ singles campaign, but not her Wimbledon appearance.
She is still expected to play doubles alongside her sister Venus Williams, giving the tournament another chance to celebrate one of tennis’ most famous partnerships.
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Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles and 14 Grand Slam doubles titles during her career, many of them with Venus.
This comeback was never only about the result. It was about seeing whether Serena Williams, after years away from singles tennis, could still stand on one of the sport’s biggest stages and compete.
For more than two hours, she did exactly that.
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