Williams Returns to Singles After Nearly Four-Year Hiatus
Serena Williams will find out her first-round opponent at Wimbledon on Friday, as the 44-year-old prepares for her first singles match in nearly four years. The seven-time Wimbledon singles champion accepted a wild-card entry to the grass-court Grand Slam, where she will also compete in doubles alongside her older sister Venus, who turned 46 last week.
The comeback began with two doubles warmup matches but escalated on Sunday when the All England Club announced that Serena would play singles. Because she has no current ranking, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion could face a highly ranked player such as defending champion Iga Swiatek or world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Last Singles Match and Wimbledon History
Williams has not played a singles match since a third-round loss to Ajla Tomljanovic at the 2022 US Open. At the time, she said she did not want to use the word “retiring” and instead declared she was “evolving” away from tennis. Her second daughter was born in 2023.
Her most recent appearance at Wimbledon was in 2022, when she lost in the opening round to then-115th-ranked Harmony Tan. The draw will determine whether she faces a top seed or a qualifier in her return.
Men’s and Women’s Seeds Announced
On the men’s side, No. 1 Jannik Sinner, the defending singles champion, is the top seed. Novak Djokovic, a seven-time champion at the All England Club, is the No. 7 seed. Two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz, who lost to Sinner in the 2025 final, will miss this year’s tournament due to a wrist injury. Wimbledon seedings follow the ATP and WTA rankings.
Wimbledon starts on Monday. The draw on Friday will set the stage for what could be one of the most anticipated comebacks in tennis history.
