Wimbledon 2026: Serena Williams on Maya Joint match and return to tennis
The Williams sisters, who will team up again for doubles here, are synonymous with Wimbledon.
Over a 19-year period, at least one of Williams’ sisters appeared in all but four singles finals in SW19. Between 2000 and 2016, they won a total of 12 Wimbledon singles titles, seven with Serena and five with Venus. Her older sister Venus won first. Younger sister Serena earned more.
They were dominant when combined, winning six women’s doubles titles together. It was very impressive when they faced each other; Two players who know each other’s game inside and out from the years they spent on the training fields in Compton, California.
If you think of the Williams sisters, you see them dressed in Wimbledon white, moving on the grass court, delivering two beautiful serves with athleticism, power and touch at the net.
As Serena said, it’s not every day there’s a wild card for someone at Wimbledon.
“I can probably count like a handful of people. I’m one of them,” he said.
“I thought, ‘I really should take this opportunity. Who knows if I’ll ever come here again? It could happen.’
“And I said, ‘What’s your problem, Serena? What are you thinking? Are you crazy?’ I thought. “I have a great opportunity to showcase what I do best.”
Will his age and all the problems that come with it (moving out of corners of the pitch a half-step slower, having to conserve more energy the longer the match goes on) become too much to overcome?
Or will her aura, the feeling of simply being Serena Williams, be enough to carry her through at least the opening round?
England batting partner David Quayle, who helped Williams prepare for his doubles return at Queen’s in early June, says it is “hard not to feel a little nervous sometimes” around Williams.
“It’s a funny thing when you see someone you’ve been watching serve on TV for years suddenly come at you to serve,” he told BBC Sport in June.
“You struggle between admiring certain shots and actually playing them. He has such an aura.
“I’m getting a little more used to seeing him on the other side of the net, but every day is special.”
