Tennis icon Serena Williams is set to make her singles comeback at Wimbledon.
The organizers of the renowned grass-court tournament, set to begin on June 29, announced on Sunday evening that the 23-time Grand Slam champion has been granted the final remaining wild card. Williams, 44, last competed in a singles match at the US Open in 2022.
«This is not a drill,» Wimbledon’s organization posted on X. Williams, who has triumphed seven times in singles at the Church Road venue across 21 appearances between 1998 and 2022, had previously returned to the tour for the grass season after a multi-year hiatus, appearing in London and Berlin, initially only as a doubles player.
Williams Sisters Also Competing Together in Doubles
When asked by reporters in Berlin if she would accept a Wimbledon wild card, Williams responded with laughter, «Oh my God, is there another one?» However, she avoided making a definitive statement on the matter.
Earlier on Tuesday afternoon, Wimbledon organizers had already confirmed that Serena and her older sister Venus, 45, would accept a wild card for the doubles competition at the Grand Slam classic.
Venus Williams debuted at Wimbledon in 1997, a year before her sister, during an era when players like Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, and Martina Hingis were still competing for titles.