Maya Joint of Australia will face Serena Williams in the Wimbledon opening round on Friday, marking the American legend’s comeback to singles competition after a four-year hiatus.
Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, made an incredible comeback earlier in June by competing in the Queen’s Club and Berlin Open doubles. Williams had retired in 2022. The 44-year-old, who has won seven Wimbledon singles competitions, was granted a wild card entrance.
In the second round, Williams might take on emerging talent Alexandra Eala of the Philippines, ranked 29th, if she defeats world number 53 Joint, a 20-year-old who has only won one of her previous 14 matches. A victory in the second round would increase the likelihood of a thrilling third-round matchup with current champion Iga Swiatek, who begins her title defence against Taylor Townsend of the United States.
Williams, who has been training at Wimbledon for the past week, last participated in a singles event at the US Open almost four years ago in what seemed to be her last match. She claimed to be “evolving away” from tennis at the time.
However, Williams announced her incredible comeback just before this year’s Wimbledon warm-up at Queen’s, driven by a desire to compete in front of her two young daughters. Since losing to Harmony Tan in the opening round of 2022, she has not participated in a Wimbledon match.
The US Open third-round loss against Ajla Tomljanovic, which appeared to be the end of her incredible career, was her final Grand Slam match. After being away from the sport for so long, it is unclear if Williams will be able to handle the physical demands of singles play.
She performed well in both of her doubles matches at Queen’s and Berlin, losing her first match against Karolina Muchova in Germany and winning one against Victoria Mboko in London.
However, Williams’ most recent major final participation ended in defeat at the 2019 US Open, and she hasn’t won a Grand Slam title since the 2017 Australian Open.
Williams and her sister Venus are competing in the doubles at Wimbledon. Together, the two have won six All England Club doubles.
