Serena Williams is no longer returning to professional tennis just as a doubles player. The sport has not announced that Williams will be coming to Wimbledon to play singles, too. The move likely shocks few, but makes fans happy globally.
It seemed only a matter of time before Williams would play singles again. Late in 2025, she entered tennis' anti-doping testing pool, and she made a return to doubles playing alongside Victoria Mboko at the HSBC Championships. That lasted only one match due to an injury Mboko suffered in her singles match.
Fans also knew that Williams would be playing doubles at Wimbledon, and she will do so with her sister Venus. If that wasn't already exciting enough, Serena Williams has been granted a wild card to participate in singles.
Serena Williams will accept a wild card to play singles at 2026 Wimbledon
What should those watching expect from the 44-year-old who hasn't played a professional singles match since the 2022 US Open? That isn't clear. In her doubles matches, Williams moved around the court well, and his with electric pace. Nothing in her form implied she would be a quick out at the grass-court major should she choose to ask to play in London.
She also never said she was retiring for good, but only that she was "evolving away" from the sport. She had two young children, but those children are now eight and three, and Williams wants to involve them in her tennis life.
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 definitely fit enough to play in singles, as judged by her doubles play. Had she struggled to chase down balls or not had the same high-end hand-to-eye coordination she had when she was so successful in the 2010s and before, one might not be overly interested in her play at Wimbledon. The assumption might have been that she was a shell of herself, but that doesn't appear to be the case.
What will be telling is how the draw unfolds. Serena Williams might need to get her bearings a bit, and beginning with a top-seed would be must-watch tennis, but Williams might not be expected to make a deep run at the event. Otherwise, a storybook storyline could be in play for the 23-time Grand Slam champion, who won her last major at the 2017 Australian Open.
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