Serena Williams falls in Wimbledon singles return as 20-year-old Maya Joint claims biggest career win
The 44-year-old American icon, back in singles for the first time since 2022, pushed the Australian 87th-ranked player to three sets but could not complete a fairy-tale comeback on Centre Court.
Serena's long-awaited comeback
Serena Williams stepped onto Centre Court to a standing ovation and loud cheers, making her first competitive singles appearance in nearly four years. The 23-time Grand Slam champion, who had "evolved away" from tennis after the 2022 US Open, accepted a wild card into Wimbledon and played two doubles events in the lead-up. Her return ended in a 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3 defeat after two hours and 25 minutes against an opponent less than half her age. Despite the loss, she delighted the crowd with glimpses of her vintage power and a fighting second-set tiebreak in which she saved a match point.
It was really great to be back at Wimbledon. I never expected to be here. The atmosphere was amazing. Walking out was amazing. I definitely relished it and missed it and enjoyed the moment more than anything.
Williams, who won seven of her 23 major singles titles at the All England Club, became the second-oldest woman to compete in the Wimbledon singles in the Open Era, behind only Martina Navratilova who reached the second round aged 47 in 2004. She now turns her attention to the doubles tournament, where she will partner her older sister Venus.
Joint overcomes her nerves
Maya Joint, a 20-year-old Australian who was born after Williams had already lifted her first seven Grand Slam trophies, held her nerve in the biggest match of her career. The world No. 87 had lost 13 of her previous 14 matches and was battling a back injury this season, yet she blocked out the aura of her legendary opponent. Joint forced a decisive break early in the third set and closed out the win on her second match point, booking a second-round meeting with 29th seed Alexandra Eala of the Philippines.
I didn't get much sleep last night, I was up until 2 a.m. just thinking about it. The start was very nerve-wracking. She has so much aura, she's such a legend. This court has had so many huge names play on it. I've been dreaming about this since I was a little kid so this is pretty crazy.
Defending champion Swiatek survives scare
Earlier in the day, reigning women's champion Iga Swiatek fought back from a mid-match slump to beat powerful American Taylor Townsend 6-1, 2-6, 6-3. The Pole admitted she became tense in the second set but was relieved to regain control and advance.
I'm happy I could get through a match like that because I got quite tense in the second set and I was able to come back to my game. These are the moments where you feel that you did your job because it's not hard when everything goes your way.
Wawrinka bids farewell
As the evening session drew to a close, 41-year-old Stan Wawrinka played his final Wimbledon match, falling to Italy's Matteo Berrettini in a marathon 6-7(7), 7-6(16), 7-6(7), 7-6(5) encounter. The three-time Grand Slam champion received an emotional send-off from the crowd.
