This is news that had been anticipated for several weeks. Yet now it’s official: Serena Williams will indeed play in the Wimbledon women’s singles, as she has received the last available wildcard.
Serena Williams will make her singles return at Wimbledon
There was widespread astonishment when she announced her return to the game. Entered in doubles at Queen’s with Victoria Mboko, she picked up a win before her partner was injured in singles and had to withdraw.
Then, with Karolina Muchova, she lost in the first round in Berlin. In any case, it had already been announced that she would receive a doubles wildcard for the Grand Slam in London, partnering with none other than her sister, Venus Williams.
Unworthy of a champion
Why not just one last run in doubles? After all, her older sister, at 46, is nearing the end, and it seems likely this will be a final appearance at Wimbledon before a true farewell at the US Open. That would make sense to close out a 30-year story in women’s tennis.
For Venus, it’s clear she doesn’t have much left to do on court. Although she’s received numerous invitations this season, she hasn’t won a single match.
It’s understandable that tournaments would invite a legend, even if she’s no longer competitive: the Williams brand has always sold, it’s timeless. But in terms of playing level, it’s starting to tarnish the end of a 21st-century legend’s career.
Serena, on the other hand, isn’t just a legend: she is THE legend, the one held up as a role model by half the WTA tour. The one with no fewer than 23 Grand Slam titles. The one who came back after motherhood and managed to reach a very high level again, clearly paving the way for many players, so that this is now fully normalised.
At 44, she’s been absent from the WTA tour since the 2022 US Open, when she said her goodbye. Farewells are rarely perfect, but it was clear her time had come.
The emotion from that final speech offered a beautiful conclusion for her and her fans. But all of that, like everything else, is swept away by this return to the court.
We’re not talking about a player who never managed to win a major title. We’re talking about the most decorated player of the century, who has nothing left to prove, who doesn’t need money, who’s had enough glory for a lifetime, and who may well (we’ll never know for sure) have shattered the dream of a young player who hoped for a wildcard to launch her career on London’s grass.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. As for the rest… There was nothing remarkable in her doubles matches, physically or in terms of pure tennis. Of course, she could get a favourable draw and win a round, but she can’t win the tournament. For a player who spent her career stacking up titles and breaking records, that’s a shame.
And after that? We’re waiting for more information. If this is the start of a genuine second career on the WTA tour, then maybe it could be 'understandable'.
If it’s just one last personal pleasure to play Wimbledon and then the US Open, it’s unworthy of the champion she was: it would seem like the whim of a player who has won everything, who chose her ending, and who, one morning, threw it all away out of pride or, worse, out of boredom.