Serena Williams’ comeback at Wimbledon nearly did not happen, she admitted on Sunday.
Williams waited until last Sunday, the day before the deadline, to commit to accepting a wild card to participate in Wimbledon as a singles player. She said that ultimately, she decided that the opportunity was too good to pass up and not one she was certain to get again.
“I thought, not every day Wimbledon holds a wild card for someone,” Williams said, via Matthew Futterman of The Athletic. “I thought, well, I should really take this opportunity. Who knows if I’ll ever make it here again, this could be it, you know, and so, I’m just like, what am I, what, what, what’s wrong with me, Serena? What are you thinking? Like, are you, are you nuts? Like, you really should do this.”
Williams recently made her comeback in doubles, but had been noncommittal about playing singles matches right up until last Sunday. At that point, she decided to participate, and was drawn against 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint in the first round. That match will be played on Tuesday afternoon.
Williams has not played a singles match since the 2022 US Open, when she said she was evolving away from tennis. That evolution was not completely permanent.
