Serena Williams returns to Wimbledon singles after four-year absence
She reached the singles final at Wimbledon in 2018 and 2019, losing in straight sets both times, and has not won a match at SW19 since
Serena Williams was on top of the tennis world when she won the last of her Wimbledon titles a decade ago.
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Hours after claiming a seventh singles crown at the All England Club, Williams and sister Venus lifted their 14th women’s doubles grand slam trophy, maintaining their record of never having lost a major final.
With a combined age of 80, they were already a veteran duo, but, 10 years on and both in their mid-40s, the siblings are giving it another crack.
And, after keeping Wimbledon waiting until the last minute with one wild-card spot left tantalisingly open, Serena has decided to chance her arm in singles as well.
Venus has continued to play sporadically throughout and has been almost a full-time player this season, but it is Serena’s surprise comeback that has set the sporting world abuzz.
Ever since it emerged late last year that she had re-entered the anti-doping testing pool – an intrusive and time-consuming commitment that no-one not intending to play professional tennis would put themselves through – the countdown clock has been ticking.
The grass-court season made sense for Serena to dip her toe back in, given her comfort on the surface and its lower physical demands compared to clay.
She impressed in her opening doubles match at Queen’s Club, looking sharp at the net and with her groundstrokes, while her serve reached an impressive 120mph.
It was hugely unfortunate that Victoria Mboko’s injury meant Serena could only play one match, while her stay in Berlin proved short-lived as she suffered a first-round loss alongside Karolina Muchova.
Doubles at 44 is one thing, but singles is undoubtedly a huge gamble given she will be heading straight into a grand slam having not played a competitive match in nearly four years.
Her glittering farewell in New York showed that she was still a force, beating second seed Anett Kontaveit before a narrow loss to Ajla Tomljanovic, but it is close to a decade since she won the last of her 23 major singles titles – while in the early stages of pregnancy with her oldest daughter Olympia.
She reached the singles final at Wimbledon in 2018 and 2019, losing in straight sets both times, and has not won a match at SW19 since.
Serena has been open about her use of weight-loss medication following the birth of her second daughter Adira in 2023, and former world number one Lindsay Davenport said: “She looks in incredible shape and better shape than arguably when she left the sport.
“Grass is a tough surface to start on, though. It goes very quick, very low, very physical. Not as much running as clay but a lot of bending.”
Speaking ahead of her return, Williams insisted she has nothing to prove, but Davenport is sceptical of the idea results are not important to her.
“Her mindset has always been to be the best,” the 1999 Wimbledon champion said. “Her mindset has always been to not settle for mediocrity.
“So I think we have to assume that she’s coming back because she feels she’s in a position where she can actually make an impact immediately in women’s tennis.
“I think it’s naive to expect right off the bat she’s going to be winning tournaments, but I think she feels like she could work her way into it. It’s a long time, a number of years she’s been out. Obviously it doesn’t get easier as you get older.
“We’ve never seen an athlete like her in our sport before, so she’s got a lot going for her in that regard.”