It’s been talked about ever since Serena Williams announced nearly three weeks ago that she would be returning to professional tennis after nearly four years away from the sport.
However, seeing the All England Club announce in one sentence that the 23-time Grand Slam champion would play singles at Wimbledon was nonetheless startling.
“Serena Williams (USA) has secured the final card in women’s singles,” read the key sentence in Sunday’s announcement, which was released eight days before the start of the grass-court Grand Slam.
At 44 years old, Williams will play singles and doubles at Wimbledon after already accepting a wild card into the doubles competition with her older sister Venus.
“These are not training sessions,” Wimbledon said on its social media accounts on Sunday.
“Name a more iconic comeback…we’ll wait,” the WTA Tour commented.
Serena Williams of the United States returns the ball during the WTA 500 Berlin Open tennis tournament at Steffi Graf Arena, in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, June 16, 2026.
(AP Photo/Ibrahim Norouzi)
Wimbledon opened the eighth and final spot in women’s singles until Williams made her decision. Earlier this week, after losing her doubles match in Berlin, she seemed undecided about the decision.
“Oh my God, are there some left?” She responded when she was told that there was still a wild card spot open. Wild cards are special invitations distributed by tournament organizers, which allow former champions and others access to the main drawing without the necessary entry qualifications. But then she thought about how ready she was for this.
“Do you think I’m ready for singles?” she asked a reporter and then turned to her doubles partner Karolina Muchova to ask her opinion.
“I think I would be interested in that,” the Czech player replied.
“That’s the question of the hour, isn’t it?” Williams said. “I don’t know. I don’t know. I wonder why there’s—I don’t know.”
Well, now that Williams has made her decision, the big remaining question is how she can physically handle singles play after so long.
Serena’s last singles match was a loss to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the 2022 US Open. She said at the time that she did not want to use the word “retire” and instead announced that she was “evolving” away from tennis. Her second daughter was born in 2023.
“I just finished Duck Duck Goose,” Williams said on Channel X after the winning ticket was announced.
Of Williams’ 23 Grand Slam singles titles, seven have come at Wimbledon: in 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016. She also won 14 doubles titles, all with Venus, six of them at Wimbledon.
Serena also swept the singles and doubles titles (with Venus) at the 2012 London Olympics, when the tennis competition was played on the All England Club’s hallowed grass.
In her last Wimbledon appearance in 2022, Serena lost in the opening round to 115th-ranked Harmony Tan in her first match since having to stop less than a set in her opening match at the All England Club due to injury the previous year.
Serena won the doubles match with her partner Victoria Mpoko at Queen’s Club last week, but the duo was forced to withdraw after Mpoko injured her knee in a singles match.
In another doubles match at the Berlin Open on Tuesday, Serena and Muchova lost to Juliana Olmos and Erin Rotliff.
As of Sunday, Serena has not entered the singles draw for any of the grass court preparatory tournaments ahead of Wimbledon.
She will get to know her opponent in the first round on Friday when the singles draw takes place at Wimbledon.
Although she is ranked 593rd in the doubles rankings thanks to her victory last week, Serena does not have any singles rankings after her absence for a long period.
Iga Swiatek is the defending Wimbledon champion, while Aryna Sabalenka is the top seed.
Since Serena has no seed, she will likely face Swiatek, Sabalenka or another higher-ranked player in the opening rounds.
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