Serena Williams walked out onto Wimbledon's Centre Court, closed her eyes, took a deep breath and smiled at the ovation that greeted her. It was her first singles match in four years, and the 44-year-old tennis legend was back at the scene of so many of her greatest triumphs.
The match ended in a 6-3 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 defeat to Australia's Maya Joint – a result that Williams, who has 23 Grand Slam titles, will not be satisfied with. She has often said she hates losing more than she loves winning.
“Serena Williams loses to Maya Joint in three sets on Wimbledon singles return after four years away.”
But for long stretches, Williams played at a level that surprised even former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash. “I was a bit cynical and very curious about what was going to happen in this match,” Cash said on BBC Radio 5 Live. “What we saw is two people playing very good tennis and Maya being able to handle the pace of Serena. Serena played an incredible level. If she wants to play this way and play some more tennis, she is going to be a real handful. Serena played better now than she did at the end [of her career] four years ago.”
There were flashes of brilliance, with a number of serves clocking 120mph. But the rust was clear. In a tense first set, Williams registered only five winners and two aces. Her heavy groundstrokes and devastating serve failed to find their mark early on. Laura Robson, former British number one, said on BBC TV: “Something Williams' coaching team have been trying to point out to her is her breathing. At times, especially in the first set, it looked like she wanted it so bad that she was almost forgetting to release into the shot.”
Williams won her first point at SW19 after 1,462 days – a forced error from Joint in response to a huge return of serve – but Joint regrouped impressively from a break down in the third set.
Williams did not do a press conference, opting to release a statement instead. She has consistently said she has nothing left to prove as she resumes the tennis career from which she evolved away in 2022. The competitive nature that propelled her to greatness means she will not be satisfied, but her children and husband watched from the stands with smiles as she bowed out. Williams got back into shape with the help of fat jabs, according to reports. The question now is whether this was a one-off or the start of a second act.