Serena Williams will play Maya Joint of Australia in the first round of Wimbledon on Tuesday, facing a 20-year-old opponent ranked 53rd in the world as she steps onto a singles court for the first time in nearly four years at the tournament where she has won more titles than anywhere else.
Williams, 44, accepted a wild-card invitation to the Wimbledon singles draw last week, adding to her already confirmed appearance in the doubles competition alongside her sister Venus. It marks her first singles match since a third-round defeat at the 2022 US Open, the occasion on which she said she was not retiring but rather evolving away from professional tennis. Her second daughter was born in 2023.
A path that could quickly become historic
The draw gives Williams a first-round opponent who is younger by more than two decades, though Joint is not a player without credentials. The Australian, who was born in Michigan and represents her father’s home country, claimed a grass-court title at Eastbourne last year, one of two WTA singles titles she has won at tour level. She made her Wimbledon debut the previous year, losing in straight sets in the opening round.
If Williams wins Tuesday’s match, a second-round meeting with a seeded player ranked inside the top 30 would likely follow. A win there would set up a potential third-round encounter with the defending champion, who opens her title defense on Centre Court on Tuesday against an American opponent. That projected bracket path would place Williams against one of the best players in the world within her first three matches, a steep test for any player, let alone one returning from a nearly four-year singles absence.
The draw across both tours
Beyond Williams, the Wimbledon draw has produced several compelling storylines heading into the first week. The men’s defending champion, ranked first in the world, opens Monday on Centre Court and is in the same half of the draw as a seven-time former Wimbledon champion, a placement that could produce a semifinal between two of the sport’s most decorated players. A two-time former champion who won at the All England Club in consecutive years will miss the tournament entirely due to a wrist injury.
On the women’s side, several of the tournament’s top seeds are projected to meet in the quarterfinals based on the draw’s seeding structure, setting up potential matchups between major champions and a French Open winner making her Wimbledon debut at that level of the draw.
The doubles alongside the singles comeback
Williams will also compete in the doubles alongside Venus, who turned 46 last week. Together they have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, six of them at Wimbledon, spanning from 2000 to 2016. Their first two All England Club doubles titles also came as wild-card entries, adding a layer of symmetry to their return to the tournament in the same capacity.
Their first-round doubles opponent will be a Colombian-Argentine pairing, giving the sisters a doubles debut that mirrors the lower-stakes environment of their early tournament doubles appearances.
Wimbledon began Monday. Serena Williams’ return to singles tennis begins Tuesday.
