Serena Williams gets official Wimbledon decision after return announcement

With Serena Williams making her anticipated return to play doubles tennis after four years away from the sport she dominated, she received a wild card invitation to play doubles with her sister, Venus, at Wimbledon.

As of Sunday, Wimbledon announced that Serena will also play in the women’s singles tournament, after receiving a wild card invite for the major event in London, England.

Serena has won the event seven times in her career between 2002 and 2019. She last competed at Wimbledon in 2022, but lost to Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round.

Over the past four years, the 44-year-old went on a hiatus from the sport she loves and grew up playing. However, she returned to play exhibition doubles several weeks ago, partnering with Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko at the 2026 Queen’s Club Championships.

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While the duo won their opening match together, Mboko had a knee injury, forcing her to withdraw and ending Serena’s run at the event. Serena then entered the 2026 Berlin Tennis Open, where she partnered with Karolina Muchova, but they lost in the opening round.

Obviously, Wimbledon is much bigger for Serena, considered tennis’s greatest all-time player with 23 Grand Slams in her career. While she’s now 44, she still has that drive to compete at a high level and prove herself, much like many other greats who left their professional sport and returned.

They’ve included Mario Lemieux, Michael Jordan, and Tom Brady, all greats in their respective sports, who had different results when they chose to un-retire and suit up again.

Wimbledon begins on Monday, June 29, in London, England, with the world anticipating what sort of performance Serena Williams will bestow on spectators in her return. This year fittingly marks the 10th anniversary of her last win at the event, when she defeated Angelique Kerber in straight sets.

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