Serena Williams to Play Singles at Wimbledon 3 Years After 2022 Exit

Serena Williams ends singles hiatus with Wimbledon Wildcard entry

Serena Williams will return to Wimbledon singles after receiving the final women’s wildcard. The 23-time Slam champion came out of retirement in June and last played singles at SW19 in 2022.

23-Time Slam Champ Serena Williams given Wimbledon singles wildcard...

Serena Williams will play singles at Wimbledon again after receiving the last wildcard spot in the women’s draw.

The 23-time Grand Slam winner ended her retirement in early June. She started her comeback by playing doubles before switching back to singles.

She teamed up with Victoria Mboko at Queen’s and with Karolina Muchova in Berlin. She also confirmed she’ll play doubles with her sister Venus at Wimbledon.

It looked like she wasn’t coming back for singles at the All-England Club after she was left out of the first wildcard list.

Three women’s wildcards were still open from that first round, and Williams has now been given one of them.

This is not a drill.@serenawilliams will compete in the 2026 ladies' singles at #Wimbledon as a wild card. pic.twitter.com/1vHnDEQ4xm

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 21, 2026

Williams is often called the greatest women’s tennis player ever. She last played singles at Wimbledon in 2022 as a wildcard, losing to Harmony Tan in the first round. A few months later at the US Open, she said she’d “evolve away from tennis” but never formally retired.

Her Wimbledon debut came in 1998 when she reached the third round in singles. She won her first title there in 2002, beating sister Venus in the final. She added six more singles crowns in 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015, and 2016, plus six doubles titles on grass with Venus.