Tennis legend Serena Williams will make her long-awaited return to singles competition at Wimbledon when she faces Australia’s Maya Joint in the opening round of the Championships.
The 44-year-old seven-time Wimbledon champion accepted a wild-card entry into the tournament, marking her first singles appearance in nearly four years.
Williams will also team up with her sister, Venus Williams, in the women’s doubles event. Venus, who recently celebrated her 46th birthday, joins Serena as part of a highly anticipated return to the All England Club.
Williams’ comeback began with a pair of doubles matches as preparation, but it officially gathered momentum on Sunday after Wimbledon confirmed her place in the singles draw.
Standing across the net will be 20-year-old Joint, an emerging Australian talent ranked No. 53 in the world. Although she was born in Michigan like Williams, Joint represents Australia through her father.
She made her Wimbledon debut last year, suffering a first-round defeat to Liudmila Samsonova.
Reacting to the draw, Joint expressed excitement about facing one of the sport’s greatest players.
“It’s an honor. I always dreamed about playing Serena Williams,” Joint said. “If you told me 10 years ago that I’d be playing her first round at Wimbledon, that’s just crazy.
“I hope it’s on Centre Court, that would be pretty cool. You just have to play the ball. You can’t really think about who you are playing because I’ll just get too nervous. I’ll just take it one ball at a time.”
Joint captured the Eastbourne Open title on grass last year, one of two WTA singles trophies she has won, although a back injury disrupted part of her 2026 campaign.
Williams has not contested a singles match since her third-round defeat to Ajla Tomljanovic at the 2022 US Open.
Following that tournament, she avoided describing her departure from tennis as retirement, instead saying she was “evolving” away from the sport. She later welcomed her second daughter in 2023.
Her most recent Wimbledon singles appearance also came in 2022, when she was beaten in the first round by Harmony Tan.
Should Williams overcome Joint, she could face 29th seed Alexandra Eala of the Philippines in the second round. A potential third-round showdown against defending champion Iga Swiatek also looms.
Swiatek will begin her title defence against American Taylor Townsend on Centre Court.
Based on the seedings, the women’s quarterfinal lineup could feature top seed Aryna Sabalenka against French Open champion Mirra Andreeva, second seed Elena Rybakina against Amanda Anisimova, Swiatek against Elina Svitolina, and Jessica Pegula against Coco Gauff.
In the men’s draw, defending champion Jannik Sinner opens his campaign against Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic on Centre Court.
Sinner and seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic are positioned in the same half of the draw, potentially setting up a semifinal clash.
The Italian said he felt physically fit after undergoing medical evaluations following his early exit from the French Open, where he struggled in extreme heat during a second-round defeat.
Djokovic, seeded seventh, will face China’s Wu Yibing in the opening round and could meet third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz will not compete this year after being sidelined by a wrist injury.
Meanwhile, Serena and Venus Williams have also received a wild-card entry into the doubles competition. They will begin their campaign against Colombia’s Camila Osorio and Argentina’s Solana Sierra.
The sisters have enjoyed remarkable success together, winning 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, including six Wimbledon crowns.
Their first Wimbledon doubles triumph came in 2000, while their most recent title at the tournament was secured in 2016. Notably, their victories in 2000 and 2002 came after entering the event as wild cards.
