LONDON (AP) — Serena Williams’ return to Wimbledon will mark her first appearance at the All England Club since 2022, after organizers granted her a doubles wildcard to play alongside her sister Venus.
The announcement comes just days after Williams, 44, made a surprise comeback at Queen’s Club, where she won her opening doubles match with Victoria Mboko before her partner withdrew injured. Williams had not played professionally in nearly four years, having declared she was “evolving away” from tennis following her exit at the 2022 US Open.
Her comeback has captured global attention, with fans eager to see one of the sport’s greatest champions back on court. Williams, a seven‑time Wimbledon singles champion, is scheduled to continue her return at the Berlin Open doubles with Karolina Muchova before heading to London. The Williams sisters, six‑time doubles champions at Wimbledon, last lifted the trophy together in 2016.
Speculation had mounted that Serena might attempt singles at Wimbledon, which begins June 29, but she was absent from the list of wildcard entries. Without a current ranking, she must rely on invitations to compete. Her last Grand Slam singles title came at the 2017 Australian Open, where she defeated Venus, and her most recent Wimbledon singles crown was in 2016.
Venus, 45, has struggled in singles this season, losing all seven of her matches, though she did notch a doubles win in Madrid earlier this year. Their reunion at Wimbledon is expected to be one of the tournament’s most compelling storylines, given their shared history and impact on the sport.
Elsewhere in the Wimbledon wildcard announcements, three‑time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, who plans to retire at the end of the season, and Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov were granted entry into the men’s singles. Poland’s Maja Chwalinska, a French Open finalist earlier this month, received a women’s singles wildcard, underscoring Wimbledon’s tradition of honoring past champions while spotlighting rising talent.
