LONDON — Excitement swept across Wimbledon on Tuesday as tennis fans eagerly awaited the return of Serena Williams, hoping the 23-time Grand Slam champion can once again produce the magic that made her one of the sport’s greatest players.
Williams, 44, will make her first Grand Slam singles appearance since the 2022 U.S. Open after accepting a wildcard into the main draw at the All England Club. The seven-time Wimbledon singles champion announced her return after nearly four years away from competitive singles tennis, creating one of the tournament’s biggest storylines.
Fans arriving at the championships said Williams’ comeback had generated enormous anticipation throughout the grounds.
“Everyone is so excited to see Serena back. She’s the best player there’s ever been,” Irish fan Lorraine told Reuters. “Even when we were travelling here, we heard so many people talking about her.”
Another supporter, Diarmuid, said Williams had earned the opportunity to compete regardless of her age.
“She’s done everything and obviously loves it so much she wants to come back and play,” he said.
“I’ve heard some stuff online and people being negative that she doesn’t deserve it. They’re saying she’s too old or whatever. But she’s one of the greatest players we’ve ever had so anybody, whoever gets to see her play here is very lucky.”
Williams made her Wimbledon debut in 1998 and captured the last of her seven singles titles at the grass-court major in 2015. She is also scheduled to compete in the doubles tournament alongside her sister, Venus Williams.
Her opening-round match against 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint is scheduled as the third contest on Centre Court, guaranteeing a packed stadium for one of the most anticipated first-round matches of the tournament.
Not everyone, however, is convinced Williams can immediately challenge the sport’s younger generation after such a lengthy absence.
She lost in the first round at Wimbledon in 2022 after returning from injury and has not won a singles match at the tournament since reaching the final in 2019, where she finished runner-up to Simona Halep.
“Obviously a big risk I guess is her age,” south London fan Daniel said.
“Doubles is a little bit safer for her but singles is going to be unknown. But she’s got such a powerful game as long as her movement is still fairly good, I think she can still hit a few players off the court.”
Brazilian supporter Bianca also questioned whether Williams could maintain the physical intensity required over a full match.
“I don’t think she’ll do well,” Bianca said. “There’s a lot of routine, there’s a lot of practice leading up to this. If it gets to a very long match, probably she will get tired more easily than before, but maybe she can do it though.”
Others remained confident that Williams’ experience and competitive instincts would outweigh concerns about her time away from the tour.
“She’s one of the Williams girls isn’t she,” England supporter Claire said. “She’s still got strength.”
For Joint, who is making only her second main-draw appearance at Wimbledon, facing one of her childhood idols represents a remarkable career milestone.
“It’s an honour,” Joint said before the tournament.
“I always dreamed about playing Serena Williams, and if you’d told me 10 years ago that I’d be playing her first round at Wimbledon, that’s just crazy.”
“I have so much respect for her, and she was one of my idols growing up. I’m really excited to have the opportunity to play against her.”
Whether Williams can produce another memorable Wimbledon run remains uncertain, but her return has already restored one of tennis’ biggest attractions to the sport’s most prestigious stage.
