All eyes on Serena ahead of much-awaited Wimbledon return
Tennis – Wimbledon – All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain – June 27, 2026 Serena Williams of the U.S. during practice ahead of the tournament REUTERS/Andrew Couldridge
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LONDON, June 29 : Former world number one Serena Williams will be the centre of attention on Tuesday when she sets foot on the grass at the All England Club for the first time in four years to face Maya Joint in the first round at Wimbledon.
TOP WOMEN’S MATCH: SERENA WILLIAMS V MAYA JOINT
Williams, who has won 23 Grand Slams, has set herself a relatively low bar at this year’s Wimbledon in what will be her first singles appearance at a Grand Slam since the 2022 U.S. Open.
The 44-year-old American, who will also compete in the doubles alongside her sister Venus, has won seven Wimbledon singles titles but said before the tournament that she was just focused on enjoying herself.
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“In general, my expectations are definitely different for the first time in my career,” she told reporters on Sunday.
“I feel like my feelings are just — not that I never enjoyed it before, or else I wouldn’t be here today — but I feel like I’m really going to enjoy being out there.”
Despite her long absence from the sport, Williams will have cause for belief against 20-year-old Australian Joint, who has had a dismal year on the WTA Tour, losing 15 of the 18 singles matches she has played in 2026.
TOP MEN’S MATCH: TAYLOR FRITZ V JACK DRAPER
In the men’s draw, American sixth seed Taylor Fritz will take on British hope Jack Draper, who is in the midst of a comeback after an extended spell on the sidelines.
The 24-year-old Briton cut short his 2025 season with a bone injury in his arm and had to contend with a knee issue this year, returning to action for the first time since April last week at Eastbourne and reaching the semi-finals.
“I have to rebuild myself and I have to start again almost,” former world number four Draper told reporters.
“I think my tennis hasn’t gone anywhere because I’ve really been dedicated every day to try and do everything possible so that when I am back on court, like now, I’m in a good place.”
Draper, who brought on three-times Grand Slam winner Andy Murray as coach last month, has a winning 3-2 head-to-head record against Fritz and was victorious in the pair’s only previous meeting on grass.
Fritz, meanwhile, was in a decent run of form and reached back-to-back finals in Halle and Stuttgart this month, before withdrawing from Eastbourne.
ZVEREV HOPING FOR ANOTHER BUS TO COME ALONG
After Alexander Zverev’s long-overdue victory at the French Open, the German will hope that Grand Slam titles are like London buses – you wait for one and then two come along at once.
However, grass is far from his best surface and he has never won a title on it, while also never getting past the fourth round at Wimbledon and suffering a first-round exit in last year’s tournament.
“I hope the saying (about buses) will be true for me. But again, Wimbledon has always been the Grand Slam that I struggled the most at,” he told reporters ahead of his match against Belgian Alexander Blockx.
“Personally I do feel different this year. I do feel like I have a good preparation. I feel like I play good tennis at the moment.”
WIMBLEDON ORDER OF PLAY ON TUESDAY (prefix number denotes seeding)
CENTRE COURT (Play begins at 1230 GMT)
Taylor Townsend (U.S.) v 3-Iga Swiatek
6-Taylor Fritz (U.S.) v Jack Draper (Britain)
Serena Williams (U.S.) v Maya Joint (Australia)
COURT NUMBER ONE (Play begins at 1200 GMT)
Alexander Blockx (Belgium) v 2-Alexander Zverev (Germany)
Lois Boisson (France) v 2-Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan)
Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) v Matteo Berrettini (Italy)
COURT NUMBER TWO (Play begins at 1000 GMT)
6-Amanda Anisimova (U.S.) v Lina Gjorcheska (North Macedonia)
Otto Virtanen (Finland) v 4-Ben Shelton (U.S.)
8-Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) v Daria Snigur (Ukraine)
Mariano Navone (Argentina) v 9-Flavio Cobolli (Italy)
Source: Reuters
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