Serena Williams reveals major career twist with surprise Wimbledon singles appearance
The tennis legend is expanding her comeback plans as she prepares to compete in both singles and doubles
Serena Williams is making her highly anticipated return to Wimbledon — and this time, she is stepping back into singles competition.
The tennis legend, 44, will compete in the 2026 Wimbledon ladies’ singles tournament after receiving a wild card entry, marking her first singles match since the 2022 season.
Wimbledon announced the news on Sunday, June 21, sharing a photo of Serena on the grass court with the message, “Serena Returns.”
The comeback announcement comes just days after it was revealed that Serena would reunite with her sister Venus Williams for the Wimbledon doubles tournament.
The sisters, who have won multiple Grand Slam doubles titles together, will also enter the competition as wild cards when the tournament begins on June 29.
Earlier this month, Serena officially restarted her professional tennis journey at the Queen’s Club Championship in London after nearly four years away from competitive play.
Partnering with Canada’s Victoria Mboko, Serena earned a straight-set doubles victory over Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez, winning 7-6, 6-2. However, the pair later withdrew from the tournament after Mboko suffered a right knee injury.
Serena continued her comeback at the Berlin Open, where she competed alongside Karolina Muchova. The duo exited in the first round after losing in straight sets.
The tennis icon’s last singles match came at the 2022 US Open, where she was defeated by Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round.
At the time, Serena said she preferred to describe her next chapter as “evolving” rather than retiring from the sport.
Serena previously revealed that her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian played a role in inspiring her return to tennis.
“My daughter, Olympia, told me I should play with Venus,” Serena shared while speaking at the Berlin Tennis Open. “She’s always right, so I was like, okay.”
The tennis superstar added that her daughter is “very serious” and “very wise,” which helped encourage her decision to return to the court.