By ANDREW DAMPF
Contributing Writer
LONDON, England (AP) — It’s been talked about ever since Serena Williams announced earlier this month that she was returning to professional tennis after almost four years away from the sport.
Still, seeing the single-sentence announcement from the All England Club that the 23-time Grand Slam champion will play singles at Wimbledon was stunning for some fans, nonetheless.
“Serena Williams (USA) receives the final ladies’ singles wild card,” read the key line in the June 21 announcement, which was issued eight days before the grass-court Grand Slam begins.
At age 44, Williams will actually play both singles and doubles at Wimbledon after already accepting a wild card for the doubles competition with her older sister, Venus.
“This is not a drill,” Wimbledon said on its social media accounts. Commented the WTA Tour, “Name a more iconic return. … We’ll wait.”
Wimbledon held open the eighth and final women’s singles wild card spot until Williams made up her mind. As recently as last week after losing a doubles match in Berlin, she appeared to be waffling over the decision.
“Oh my gosh, there are some left?” she replied when she was told there was still a wild card spot open. Wild cards are special invitations handed out by tournament organizers, which allow former champions and others access to the main draw without the necessary entry qualifications. But then she mused about her readiness for it.
“Do you think I’m ready for singles?” she asked a reporter and then turned to doubles partner Karolina Muchova to ask what she thought.
“I think I would be interested in it,” the Czech player responded.
“That’s the question of the hour, right?” Williams said. “I don’t know. I don’t know. I wonder why there’s — I don’t know.”
Well, now that Williams has decided, one remaining question is how she can physically handle singles play after so long.
Her most recent single match was a loss to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the 2022 U.S. Open. At the time, she said she didn’t want to use the word “retiring” and instead declared that she was “evolving” away from tennis. Her second daughter was born in 2023.
“Just finished a mean game of duck duck goose,” Williams said on X after the wild card announcement.
Of her 23 Grand Slam titles in singles, seven have come at Wimbledon: in 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016. She’s also won 14 Grand Slams in doubles, all with Venus, and six of them at Wimbledon.
She also swept the singles and doubles (with Venus) titles at the 2012 London Olympics, when the tennis competition was held on the hallowed grass of the All England Club.
At her last Wimbledon appearance in 2022, Williams lost in the opening round to 115th ranked Harmony Tan. That was her first match since having to stop less than a set into her opening contest at the All England Club because of an injury the year before.
Williams and her partner Victoria Mboko won a doubles match at Queen’s Club two weeks ago but then the pair had to withdraw after Mboko injured her knee in a singles match.
In another doubles match at the Berlin Open June 16, Williams and Muchova lost to Giuliana Olmos and Erin Routliffe.
As of June 21, Williams had not entered the singles draws of any grass-court tuneup tournaments before Wimbledon.
She will learn who her first-round opponent is on June 26 when the singles draws for Wimbledon are held.
While she’s ranked No. 593 in the doubles rankings courtesy of her victory last week, Williams has no singles ranking after being away for so long. Because she has no ranking, she could potentially face a top-ranked player in her opening round, including defending Wimbledon champ Iga Swiatek or world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
