Serena Williams returns to Wimbledon and this time she will play singles.
The tennis legend, 44, has received a wild card to compete in the 2026 Wimbledon women’s singles tournament, the tournament announced on its official Instagram account on Sunday, June 21.
“This is not a drill,” the account captioned alongside a photo of Serena on a grass court and the words “Serena is back.”
The tournament starts on June 29.
The singles announcement follows news earlier this week that Serena would also reunite with her sister Venus Williams, 46, to play doubles at Wimbledon, with both also receiving wildcards for that event.
Wimbledon marked that revelation with a photo of the two sisters together on the court: “Together again, at Wimbledon.”
It has been a busy and somewhat turbulent return to professional tennis for Serena.
On June 9, she restarted her doubles career at the Queen’s Club Championship in London after almost four years away from the sport, partnering Canada’s Victoria Mboko to defeat Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez in straight sets.
Two days later, the pair were forced to withdraw after Mboko suffered a right knee injury. Serena then competed at the Berlin Open on June 16, this time alongside Karolina Muchova, but the team lost in the first round.
Her last singles match was at the 2022 US Open, where she lost to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round. At the time, she said she preferred to think of herself as “evolving” away from tennis rather than retiring.
What brought her back? His daughter Olimpia, eight years old.
“My daughter Olimpia told me I should play with Venus,” Serena told reporters in Berlin. “She’s always right, so I thought, okay.”
He added: “She’s very serious. She knows it. She’s very smart. I think that’s a better word. She’s very wise. So I said, ‘Okay, Olympia, let’s see if we can do it.'”
Wimbledon starts on June 29. Serena Williams will be there.
