Serena Williams returns to Wimbledon on Tuesday, June 30, and Virtanen Tennis puts her against Maya Joint later on day two after four years away from competitive singles. The 44-year-old comes back to a draw already shaped by a rough opening day for British players.
Williams said in her pre-tournament press conference: "I had until Monday to decide [to take the wildcard]. I think it was like Sunday [that I decided to]. I just wasn't sure up until then. Honestly, I'm still not even sure, but we'll see." That left her comeback tied to a late decision, not a long build-up.
Wimbledon and the British losses
Wimbledon was already moving fast before her match arrived. Emma Raducanu withdrew late on Sunday night, Jack Draper pulled out mid-afternoon on Monday with injury, and Cameron Norrie crashed out in a five-setter the same day.
All 10 British players who took the court on day one lost in the opening round, a clean sweep that left Tuesday carrying more of the tournament's attention than usual. Jack Pinnington Jones was still in the picture on Monday evening, but his match was suspended with him two sets down.
Serena Williams and Maya Joint
Williams' return comes against Maya Joint, who was scheduled to play her later on Tuesday, June 30. The matchup is the first competitive singles step back for Williams in four years, even though she did return to doubles 21 days ago.
That gap is the point. She arrives with 23 singles Grand Slam titles in the Open Era, four Olympic gold medals, and 14 Slam doubles titles alongside Venus, but the question on Tuesday is not the resume. It is how her first competitive singles match in four years will look once the ball is in play.
Katie Boulter, ranked No. 60 and previously as high as 23rd in the WTA standings, was also part of the day-two picture, set to face Tyra Caterina Grant, who was ranked 172nd. Toby Samuel was due to meet the 15th seed Jakub Mensik, Billy Harris was set for 19th seed Karen Khachanov, and Harry Wendelken, Jacob Fearnley and Arthur Fery also had first-round assignments.
For Tuesday, the main draw point is simple: Williams is back in a singles match at Wimbledon, and the tournament already knows how quickly the first round has been going for the British players around her.
