Serena Williams Announces She Will Play Singles at Wimbledon
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NEED TO KNOW
- Serena Williams will compete in the 2026 Wimbledon ladies' singles as a wild card, marking her first singles match since 2022
- Serena and sister Venus Williams are also set to reunite as doubles partners at Wimbledon
- Earlier this month, Serena restarted her doubles career at the Queen's Club Championship in London after nearly four years away from professional tennis
Serena Williams is making another major tennis comeback.
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The tennis star, 44, is set to compete in the 2026 ladies' singles at Wimbledon as a wild card, the tournament announced on its official Instagram account on Sunday, June 21.
"This is not a drill," Wimbledon captioned the post, which featured a photo of Serena on a grass court alongside the words, "Serena Returns."
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The news comes less than a week after the announcement that Serena would reunite with her former doubles partner, sister Venus Williams, 46, to play at Wimbledon, also as wild cards, when the tournament begins on June 29.
Wimbledon's Instagram account shared the news alongside a photo of the sisters on the court together, writing, "Back together, at Wimbledon."
On June 9, Serena restarted her doubles career at the Queen's Club Championship in London after nearly four years away from professional tennis. She and her partner, Canada's Victoria Mboko, defeated Erin Routliffe of New Zealand and American Nicole Melichar-Martinez in straight sets, 7-6, 6-2.
Two days later, on June 11, the team was forced to withdraw after Mboko sustained a right knee injury.
On June 16, Serena competed in doubles at the Berlin Open in Germany. She and partner Karolina Muchova were defeated in the first round, losing in straight sets to Routliffe and Giuliana Olmos, 6-4, 6-4.
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Serena's last singles match came at the 2022 US Open, when she lost to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round. She said at the time that she didn't want to use the word "retiring" and instead shared that she was "evolving" away from tennis, per ESPN.
Serena Williams plays in the first round of doubles on Day Two of the Berlin Open on June 16, 2026Credit: Robert Prange/Getty
Serena previously shared that her 8-year-old daughter inspired her to make her tennis comeback.
“My daughter, Olympia, told me I should play with Venus,” she told reporters at the Berlin Tennis Open on June 16. “She's always right, so I was like, okay.”
"She's very serious," Serena added about Olympia's input. "She knows. She's very smart. She's very wise, I think, is a better word. So I said, 'Okay, Olympia, let's see if we can do it.' "
The tennis star is also set to make an appearance at Fanatics Fest this summer. Serena will face off against some of the biggest names in sports — including Tom Brady, Novak Djokovic, John Cena, Rob Gronkowski, Cam Skattebo, Jordan Chiles and Jaxson Dart, among others — in the third annual Fanatics Games, PEOPLE previously reported.
The professional athletes will compete in an array of athletic challenges, including NFL Clutch Kick, NBA Game Winning Shot, WWE Superstar Entrance, UFC Striking, MLB Pitching, NHL Shoot & Score, Dick's Sporting Goods Putting and FIFA Ultimate Goal.
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