Serena Williams upbeat despite loss in return to Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON, England — Serena Williams’ return to singles competition in tennis on Tuesday was short, but still sweet.

Williams, 44, making her first appearance on the pro tennis singles circuit in nearly four years, lost in her first-round match to Australia’s Maya Joint, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3. The 44-year-old, seven-time Wimbledon champion battled for more than two hours but was unable to overcome her 20-year-old opponent.

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“It was really great to be back at Wimbledon,” Williams said after the match, according to ESPN. “I never expected to be here. The atmosphere was amazing. Walking out was amazing. I definitely relished it and missed it and enjoyed the moment more than anything.”

Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles winner, was bidding to become the oldest player to win a major singles match since Martina Navratilova achieved it as a 47-year-old at Wimbledon in 2004, ESPN reported.

Maya Joint takes down Serena Williams in three sets in the legend's return to Wimbledon‼️ pic.twitter.com/fOnON4NkRX
— ESPN (@espn) June 30, 2026

Williams was playing her first singles match since the 2022 U.S. Open, according to USA Today. That year, Williams lost to Ajla Tomljanović, 7-5, 7-6, 6-1, before taking a four-year sabbatical.

Joint, who said Williams was her idol growing up, said she was unable to sleep the night before her match.

“I don’t know what just happened,” Joint told reporters. “It was something I’ve dreamed about since I was a little kid.”

Williams received a wild card to play at Wimbledon after announcing her return to tennis last month, ESPN reported.

She played doubles with 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko at the HSBC Championships in London, winning 7-6 (2), 6-2 against No. 3 seeds Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez, The Washington Post reported.

She made the decision to play at Wimbledon after that tournament.

Williams will return to action in doubles play with her sister Venus on the grass surface at Wimbledon. They will face Solana Sierra and Camila Osorio in the first round, ESPN reported. The Williams siblings have won 14 major doubles titles together, including six at Wimbledon.

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