Serena Williams drawn against Maya Joint for Wimbledon singles comeback; Swiatek faces Townsend

The singles draw

Serena Williams' path to a potential eighth Wimbledon title will begin against 20-year-old Maya Joint after the women's draw was made on 26 June. The American, who received the final wild card last weekend, last played a singles match at the 2022 US Open, a third-round loss to Ajla Tomljanovic that had the air of a farewell. Since returning to the tour this month she has contested only two doubles matches.

Joint's big moment

Joint, ranked 53rd and representing Australia, has two grand slam match wins, both at the US Open. She described the draw as "an honour" and acknowledged the challenge ahead.

“I always dreamed about playing Serena Williams and, if you'd told me 10 years ago that I'd be playing her in the first round at Wimbledon, it's crazy. I have so much respect for her. She was one of my idols growing up and I'm just really excited to have the opportunity to play against her.”

The 20-year-old has struggled for form in 2026, losing 10 consecutive matches before a first-round victory at a clay-court WTA 125 event in Croatia this month. Still, she believes she can trouble the former world number one.

“Any match is winnable. I've gotten a lot closer in my past couple matches, I've been getting closer in the score. Serena is still an amazing player, so I'm sure it's going to be a difficult match but I also think that I have a chance to win.”

Williams' comeback arc

Williams, who owns 23 major singles titles and seven Wimbledon crowns, has not competed at the tournament since losing to Harmony Tan in the first round in 2022. Her last match on grass before that was at Wimbledon 2021. The 24-year age gap between her and Joint is the widest in a women's grand slam first round in the Open Era. Williams is also entered in doubles with her sister Venus; the pair, with a combined age of 90, face Colombia's Camila Osorio and Argentina's Solana Sierra in round one.

Elsewhere in the women's field

Defending champion Iga Swiatek begins her title defence against American Taylor Townsend, while top seed Aryna Sabalenka meets Serbian qualifier Teodora Kostovic. Second seed Elena Rybakina, the 2022 champion, opens against French wild card Loïs Boisson, and Roland Garros winner Mirra Andreeva takes on Magda Linette. Emma Raducanu, battling a fitness niggle, is scheduled to face Antonia Ruzic and could run into Sabalenka in the third round.

Men's draw highlights

Defending champion Jannik Sinner starts against Miomir Kecmanovic and shares the same half as Novak Djokovic, who meets Wu Yibing. The standout first-round clash pits former world number four Jack Draper, now ranked 160th after a series of injuries, against sixth seed Taylor Fritz. French Open champion Alexander Zverev faces Alexander Blockx, while Stan Wawrinka, in his final Wimbledon, takes on Matteo Berrettini. Daniil Medvedev drew 2014 finalist Marin Cilic.