“This is not a drill,” reads the post on the Wimbledon tournament’s official Instagram account, announcing that Serena Williams will compete in the 2026 women’s singles as a wild card. Set to begin on June 29, 2026, the competition—which will be held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London—will see the 23-time Grand Slam champion return to singles competition after nearly four years away from the court.
Having already played doubles, the tennis player is now marking an important turning point in her career. Already a seven-time Wimbledon champion, Serena resumed playing doubles at the start of this month’s grass-court season, following months of speculation about her possible return. Born in 1981, the American champion had already received a wild card for the Wimbledon women’s doubles draw alongside her sister Venus, more than twenty years after they won their first title together on the same court.
When asked just a few days ago in Berlin about the possibility of accepting a wild card for the singles draw, as reported by The Guardian, the tennis player said: “That’s the question on everyone’s mind right now, isn’t it? I don’t know. I don’t know.”
Serena’s last appearance on a singles court was at the 2022 U.S. Open, where she was eliminated in the third round. Nearly four years after she announced her retirement from tennis, Williams’ participation in the tournament marks an important moment not only for the champion but also for the world of tennis as a whole.
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