Serena Williams’ comeback comes to an end after a first-round loss at Wimbledon, ESPN reports.
Competing on Centre Court, Williams fell 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3 to 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint. Playing her first professional singles match since the 2022 US Open, Williams shook off four years of competitive rust to showcase flashes of her signature power. Showing her championship greatness, Williams rattled off 7 aces and saved a match point in a spectacular second-set tiebreak to force a decider.
Though she ultimately ran out of steam against her opponent—who is less than half her age—the 23-time Grand Slam champion relished the moment. She played on the historic grass in front of her sister Venus and her two daughters, Olympia and Adira.
After the match, Williams expressed her gratitude for making her highly anticipated return.
“It was really great to be back at Wimbledon,” Williams said. “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.”
Joint, a two-time champion on the WTA Tour, spoke about being nervous before the match.
”I didn’t get much sleep last night, I was up until 2 a.m. just thinking about it,” Joint said. “Walking out, I forgot the warmup. I don’t know what happened. My legs weren’t moving. I really don’t know how I got a pretty good start to the match. I mean, she has such an aura.
“She’s such a legend, and this court has so many huge names that have played on it. I’ve been dreaming about this since I was a little kid, so this is amazing,” Joint continued.
Williams shared that he was a little hesitant to accept that last-minute bid.
“I thought [it’s] not every day Wimbledon holds a wild card for someone,” Williams said on Saturday. “I can name probably like a handful of people. I happened to be one of those people. I thought I should really take this opportunity. Who knows if I’ll ever make it here again. This could be it.”
While her singles comeback was cut short, Williams will remain at the All England Club to compete in the women’s doubles draw alongside Venus later this week.