LONDON (AP) — Serena Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, has accepted a wild card entry to play singles at Wimbledon, a decision that required some introspection.
The All England Club reserved one final wild card, and Williams, who had already committed to playing doubles with her sister Venus, took time to consider this opportunity. “I thought I should really take this opportunity. Who knows if I’ll ever make it here again. This could be it,” Williams, 44, reflected during a Sunday press conference.
She humorously questioned her own hesitance, saying, “I was like, ‘What’s wrong with me, Serena? What are you thinking? Are you nuts? Like you really should do this.'” Williams acknowledged the unique chance to display her athletic talents once more, noting, “People live to be an athlete. I have this great opportunity to showcase what I do, what I do best, I suppose. Yeah, I think ultimately I was like that is pretty cool, so I should do it.”
Williams is set to return to Centre Court for her first singles match at the grass-court Grand Slam since 2022, where she will face 20-year-old Maya Joint from Australia, marking a significant step in her tennis comeback.
Her last appearance at Wimbledon was in 2022, where she was defeated by Harmony Tan in the opening round. Williams described her departure from tennis post-2022 U.S. Open as “evolving” rather than retiring, following a third-round loss to Ajla Tomljanovic.
Having initially accepted a wild card for doubles, Williams detailed her decision-making process for singles participation. “So I think it was on, I had until Monday to decide. I think it was like Sunday. I just wasn’t sure up until then,” she admitted. “Honestly, I’m still not even sure, but we’ll see.”
Although a seven-time Wimbledon singles champion, Williams expressed a shift in her expectations, stating, “in general my expectations are definitely different for the first time in my career.”
The tournament’s defending champion, Iga Swiatek, will inaugurate Centre Court on Tuesday, followed by Taylor Fritz versus Jack Draper, culminating with the highly anticipated Williams-Joint match.
Williams acknowledged Joint’s familiarity, noting, “Yeah, actually I know her. I’ve watched some of her videos,” before adding, “I’m sure she knows my game.” Joint has recently slipped from No. 53 to No. 87 in the WTA rankings.
Serena gets nervous?
Even the greatest athletes experience pre-match jitters. Williams remarked, “I expect to be nervous. I was also nervous every single match I ever played in my life.” She attributed these feelings to her passion and dedication to tennis, saying, “I think that showed the passion and the love and the care, that I cared about my job, whether it was the first round or the second round or the finals.”
Historically, Williams holds a Wimbledon singles first-round record of 19-2, with losses in her last two appearances in 2021 and 2022. Her most recent Wimbledon victory was in 2016, with runner-up finishes in 2018 and 2019.
Williams officially re-entered the tennis circuit earlier this month with a doubles match alongside 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko at the Queen’s Club and later with Karolina Muchova in Berlin, where they exited in the first round.
What can we expect from Serena?
Mirra Andreeva, the newly crowned French Open champion, expressed relief not to face Williams in the first round, a sentiment likely shared by others. Williams commented, “Respectfully, it’s not surprising simply because I think anyone that’s done — it’s like the big four coming back, I mean, Novak (Djokovic) is still here, but no one would want to play them in their first round.”
Williams added, “No one knows how my game may or may not have evolved, what to expect, don’t know much. Those type of opponents are always very difficult to play.”
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
