Serena Williams has been awarded the final wildcard for the women’s Wimbledon tournament in what will be her first appearance in singles for more than three years.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion resumed her career earlier this month but has only played in two doubles tournaments. At the HSBC Championships in London, she teamed up with Victoria Mboko. The duo won their opening match before Mboko was forced to withdraw due to injury. In Williams’ latest appearance at the Berlin Open, she played alongside Karolina Muchova, but they lost their opening match.
“Honestly, I felt pretty good out there,” Williams told reporters after her loss in Berlin. “I felt, actually, more nimble, more sturdy, and quicker than in the first match [at] Queen’s. Yeah, overall I felt pretty good.”
Leading up to the announcement, Williams has been coy about her desire to play singles again. When quizzed about battling for a wildcard slot earlier this week, she refused to give much away.
“That’s the question of the hour, right?” she said of playing singles at Wimbledon. “I don’t know. I don’t know. I wonder why there’s – I don’t know.”
Set to also play in the doubles event at SW19 with sister Venus, Williams is making her return to Grand Slam tennis at the age of 44. To put this into perspective, the oldest woman in the Open Era to win a major match is Martina Navratilova at 47. She last played at the 2022 US Open, and during that time she announced she was ‘evolving’ away from the sport.
However, the former world No.1 had a change of heart and began her return to the Tour last year by re-entering the anti-doping control system. Something every player must do for six months before being eligible to play.
“I don’t know [what’s to come]. I had nothing better to do! I was sitting at home. I thought, why not?” The mum-of-two previously spoke about her decision to return.
Williams is one of the most decorated players in Wimbledon history with 14 titles to her name – seven in singles, six in doubles and one in mixed doubles.
The draw for this year’s singles tournament will take place on Friday.
