Serena Williams handed Wimbledon wildcard for ladies' as comeback ramps up - 'This is not a drill'

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Wimbledon have confirmed that seven-time champion Serena Williams will take her place in the draw for the ladies' singles as a wildcard when the third major of the season gets underway later in the month.

Serena on return to tennis: 'I got tired of sitting at home'

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Williams will return to singles competition at SW19 after accepting the final women's wildcard, almost four years on from what had been thought to be her farewell appearance at the 2022 US Open.

The 44-year-old, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, recently eased back into competition in doubles, first at Queen's Club in London and then in Berlin, before now confirming a shock return to singles at the third slam of the season.

She had already been awarded a Wimbledon doubles wildcard alongside her sister Venus, marking their first partnership since the 2018 French Open.

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The All England Club had already allocated seven of its eight singles wildcards before Williams' decision, with the final place widely expected to be held back for her.

Her previous Wimbledon appearance came in 2022, when she lost in the opening round to Harmony Tan, following injury struggles that included a slip and retirement against Aliaksandra Sasnovich the previous year.

Williams retired from tennis at the 2022 US Open after losing to Ajla Tomljanovic, later stepping away from the sport before re-entering the anti-doping testing pool in late 2025 as part of the requirements for a potential comeback.

Her recent return to doubles has included partnerships with Victoria Mboko at Queen's - where she won one match before Mboko's injury - and Karolina Muchova in Berlin, where the pair exited in the first round.

Asked in the German capital about a possible singles return, Williams was non-committal, saying: "Do you think I’m ready for singles? That’s the question of the hour… I don’t know."

But the All England Club confirmed the news on Sunday, writing: "This is not a drill. Serena Williams will compete in the 2026 ladies' singles at Wimbledon as a wild card."

Williams brings stardust once more to SW19

The younger of the Williams sisters has been training at Aorangi Park ahead of her return to singles competition, sharing footage on social media alongside her daughters, Olympia and Adira.

It marks a dramatic new chapter at a venue where she last won a match in 2019, when she finished runner-up to Simona Halep.

Williams first claimed the Wimbledon title in 2002, beating sister Venus in the final, before repeating the feat in 2003.

Serena Williams has 73 WTA titles and spent 319 weeks as world No. 1

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Further victories followed in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016, taking her to seven singles titles at SW19 and helping establish her as one of the greatest grass-court players in history.

Across her career, she has won 14 Wimbledon titles in total, including six women's doubles crowns and one mixed doubles title, and claimed Olympic singles and doubles gold on the same courts at London 2012.

After maternity leave in 2017, Williams twice returned to reach the Wimbledon final, losing to Angelique Kerber and later Halep.

Her 2021 campaign ended with a mid-match retirement against Sasnovich, while in 2022 she came within two points of victory against Tan in what had been expected to be her final appearance.

Now, Williams is ready to pen another chapter in an illustrious career, and she will learn her first-round opponent when the draw is made on Friday ahead of the tournament starting on June 29.

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