Serena Williams stuns fans with dramatic return to Wimbledon singles at 44 years old

Tennis icon Serena Williams is officially returning to the Wimbledon singles draw after securing a spectacular wildcard entry into the 2026 tournament.

On Sunday, the All England Club confirmed the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion will return to the version of the sport he dominated for decades.

The announcement marks a major milestone for the 44-year-old, whose last professional singles match came nearly four years ago at the 2022 US Open.

Williams had previously signaled a potential return to grass courts after launching her comeback to competitive tennis in the doubles draw, where she was locked in to compete alongside sister Venus Williams.

The All England Club had left one of the women’s singles wildcard slots conspicuously unclaimed and on Sunday it was announced that Serena would test herself against the world’s best players, many of whom are less than half her age, at the event she has won seven times.

Four years after her last professional match, the 44-year-old began her return to tennis at the Queen’s Club’s HSBC Championships, where she won one round before being forced out due to an injury to partner Victoria Mboko.

The announcement marks a major milestone for the 44-year-old, whose last professional singles match came nearly four years ago at the 2022 US Open.

Before making her comeback at the start of the month, Williams insisted she has ‘nothing to prove’ in the coming chapter of her storied career.

‘I don’t need to win,’ he said. ‘I’ve earned more than most people do in their entire lives, so to me it doesn’t matter and it’s important to keep reminding myself of that because I’ve got nothing to prove, I’ve got nothing to lose and everything here is just a game.’

Williams, who stated that he wanted his children to watch him play and claimed that the timing of the school holidays was a factor in his return at the beginning of the grass season, mentioned that he missed the atmosphere of the tour and wanted to experience a “different excitement” with his family during the trip.

‘I’m not putting any pressure on myself throughout this entire journey,’ he continued. ‘I’ve been under enough pressure.

‘Being an athlete is the best you can be, it’s the highest place, and to have the opportunity to do it one last time is wonderful and exciting.

‘I feel like if I want to play singles I probably need to train a bit more and we’ll see if I can get there, if I don’t that’s not my journey right now.’

Williams was speaking ahead of her comeback match at Queen’s, where she and Mboko won 7-6, 6-2 against No. 3 seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe.

“I had so much fun,” Serena said on court after the victory. ‘Vicky really managed to keep the team going at important points. It was very natural to play with him.’

Williams returns to tennis and dominates Queen’s Club at the start of the month

Williams was congratulated by his wife Alexis and their children Olympia and Adira

Why did he come back? ‘I had nothing better to do; My kids don’t go to school during the summer so why not!’

Mboko, who is only 19 years old and plays with his idol, added: ‘It is a great privilege to play alongside you.’

Williams was followed by her proud family – husband Alexis and children Olympia and Adira.

Following a 20 per cent increase in prize money from the All England Club, all recipients of wild singles cards this year will receive a minimum of $106,000 (£80,000); This is a huge windfall for lower ranked players.

There will be huge anticipation to see who Williams faces in Friday’s draw – it could be anyone entering the draw as an unseeded player, including world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka – and then her return to the court will be one of the biggest events in tennis this year.

He must fight according to logic. But what athletes at the legendary Williams level do is defy logic.