Serena Williams is returning to the singles court Tuesday, following her move away from tennis in 2022.
Limited time: Save 25% on NBC News subscription
Get exclusive reporting, live Q&As and ad-free reading.
The 23-time major champion made her official comeback to the tour earlier this month, joining Canadian Victoria Mboko at the HSBC Championships for doubles. After winning the first round, they exited in the second after Mboko was injured.
In addition to receiving a wild-card entry for the singles draw, Williams will be partnering with Venus Williams, her older sister, for doubles through an invitation at Wimbledon. The pair have a total of 14 major doubles titles, including six at Wimbledon.
Her sister has continued her time on the WTA Tour, reaching the quarterfinals in doubles at the 2025 U.S. Open, partnering with Leylah Fernandez.
Serena Williams is competing against 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint in the singles draw.
Joint is currently ranked No. 87 and is looking to make it past the first round at Wimbledon for the first time against the seven-time former champion. Williams last won Wimbledon in 2016 and holds an overall 98-14 record, but lost in the first round at her last appearance in 2022.
In stepping back four years, Williams didn’t say she was retiring, instead saying she was “evolving away” from the sport.
“Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution,” she said in a 2022 Vogue essay. “I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”
Since then, Williams has welcomed a second child and worked on a major campaign endorsing a GLP-1 medication. Her decision to accept the singles entry was a last-minute decision, coming after her doubles appearance was announced.
“I thought not every day Wimbledon holds a wild card for someone,” she said to the press Sunday, according to the WTA. “I can name probably like a handful of people. I happened to be one of those people. I thought I should really take this opportunity. Who knows if I’ll ever make it here again? This could be it.”
