Serena Williams steps back onto Centre Court on Tuesday to face Maya Joint – a 20-year-old ranked 243 places below her, but 24 years her junior. The match comes 1,396 days after Williams last played a singles match at Wimbledon, a loss to Harmony Tan in 2021. Since then, the 44-year-old has had a second daughter, co-founded a National Women’s Soccer League team, danced at the Super Bowl – and changed her mind about leaving tennis.
“It’s been a very easy retransition. I’m back in the house that I stayed in [for] several years,” Williams told BBC TV. “It’s nothing too new, and at the same time it’s everything new. Change is good.”
“Serena Williams returns to Wimbledon singles after 1,396 days, criticising tournament rules as she faces Maya Joint.”
But the return has not been without friction. Just days before her first match, Williams criticised Wimbledon’s anti-doping rules, calling them “unreasonable”. The tournament awarded her a wildcard – one of only a handful, she noted – but the regulations have drawn her ire. “I can name probably like a handful of people. I happened to be one of them,” she said of the wildcard. “I thought, ‘I should really take this opportunity.’ Who knows if I’ll ever make it here again? This could be it.”
The seven-time Wimbledon champion admitted that even the grounds have changed enough to disorient her: she momentarily got lost on the way to the media centre. Yet for Williams, success is no longer measured in trophies alone. “Success [for me] is just walking out there. I never expected to be here. Success is enjoying myself and sticking to my gameplan that my coach gives me, being disciplined – and that’s what I’m trying to do,” she said.
Her opponent, Maya Joint, has never played a main-draw match at Wimbledon. Williams, by contrast, has won 12 Wimbledon singles titles between her and her sister Venus – seven for Serena, five for Venus – and six women’s doubles crowns together. For nearly two decades, at least one Williams sister appeared in all but four singles finals here.
When asked about her mindset, Williams reflected on the improbability of her return. “I was like, ‘What’s wrong with you, Serena? What are you thinking? Are you nuts?’ I have this great opportunity to showcase what I do best.” No one knows what the 44-year-old can still produce on grass. But after four years away, just being on court feels like a victory.