’No Upside for Aryna Sabalenka’ — Roddick Ponders a Potential Serena Williams–World No. 1 Showdown

After months of anticipation, Serena Williams is gearing up for a spectacular return to women’s singles tennis at the Wimbledon Championships.

Fellow American tennis legend Andy Roddick has now weighed in on the 23-time Grand Slam champion’s return and the possibility of her playing against Aryna Sabalenka or another top seed in the first round.

Andy Roddick Previews Serena Williams’ Wimbledon Comeback

Williams is getting ready to pull off one of the most remarkable comebacks in sporting history, with the first round of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships set to be her first singles match since the 2022 US Open.

Roddick claimed that it would be nearly impossible for him to even comprehend the possibility of making such a stunning return.

“Not having played a singles match in a lot of years and saying I think dipping my toes back in is going to be at Wimbledon. I would have scheduled seven events. Imagine being in Serena’s brain where it’s like, ‘Oh no, it’s going to be Wimbledon. I’m going to be good enough. I can handle it.’ That’s levels of confidence that I didn’t have for 12 seconds of my existence,” Roddick said on the “Served podcast.”

Roddick also noted how, as a wildcard, Williams could be drawn to face World No. 1 Sabalenka in the first round at SW19. He added that there was no upside to going up against Williams for Sabalenka or any of the other top seeds, as the pressure would be on them alone.

“She has as much of a chance as anyone on earth of playing Sabalenka in the first round. But then if you’re Sabalenka, you play Serena, who hasn’t played in four years. She comes out and gets three or four holds. There’s no upside for Aryna Sabalenka playing Serena. This could be a heavy dose of Serena and Venus this entire week. Imagine Jordan coming back after playing a three-on-three pickup game a couple of times,” he added.

Williams last played singles tennis at the 2022 US Open, where she eliminated second seed Anett Kontaveit before losing in the third round.

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In addition to singles, Williams is also teaming up with her older sister Venus in women’s doubles at the 2026 grass-court Slam.

The 44-year-old, a 14-time Grand Slam women’s doubles champion, has already logged some competitive match play ahead of her appearance at the All England Club, partnering with Victoria Mboko and Karolína Muchová at Queen’s Club and Berlin, respectively.