Serena Williams went down fighting as she was beaten by Maya Joint on her return to Wimbledon, with the 44-year-old wildcard losing 6-3 6-7 6-3 in a thrilling battle on Centre Court on her first singles match in four years.
Just stepping onto Centre Court for the first time since a first-round defeat to Harmony Tan in 2022, Williams became the second-oldest player to appear in a Wimbledon main draw match and oldest since a 47-year-old Martina Navratilova in 2004. Williams said she had “no expectations” ahead of her return, but predicted nerves.
The first set was difficult for Williams. Joint, the 20-year-old Australian, stood up to the immense pressure of facing a legend of the sport and the world No 87 was able to force errors from Williams and converted the only break of the first set to strike ahead.
After going a break down in the second, Williams, who was watched by both of her young children on Centre Court, switched to a more aggressive return game and found a much higher level as she rallied from behind, saving match point in the tiebreak.
Williams went a break up in the deciding set, but could not close in on the finish line as Joint prevailed in two hours and 22 minutes. Williams will return later this week to play doubles with her sister Venus Williams, who was also courtside.
“It was really great to be back at Wimbledon,” said Williams, who later skipped her press conference. “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.”
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Matteo Berrettini claims first win at Wimbledon since 2024
Emotional scenes too for former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini. After his injury nightmare at Roland Garros, where he retired from his quarter-final, he is determined to show his form this season on the grass-courts where he can be so dangerous.
He said of the retiring Stan Wawrinka: “He’s a legend. He showed it today. Unbelievable player. Unbelievable competitor.”
Wimbledon waves goodbye to Stan Wawrinka
Wimbledon tonight waved farewell to Stan Wawrinka, the three-time grand slam champion who will be retiring at the end of the season. In his final match, he was beaten by Matteo Berrettini, the former Wimbledon runner-up, in an epic duel on Court No 1. 6-7(9) 7-6(16) 7-6(7) 7-6(5)!
“I don’t want to retire but I know it’s time for me to stop,” Wawrinka said. “One of the reasons I kept playing for so long was to enjoy these moments like tonight. So much emotion.
“I’m so grateful to have this opportunity. To have received a wildcard.. to have the chance to play one last time in Wimbledon. It’s such a special tournament. As a kid you always dream about maybe being here one day. I had a chance to play it so many times. With that kind of support, it means so much to me. Thank you so much for all those years.”
Alex Eala to play Maya Joint in Wimbledon second round
The winner of the match between Serena Williams and Maya Joint was always likely to face Alexandra Eala, the 29th seed and in-form star from the Philippines.
Eala just secured her first Wimbledon win by beating Renata Zarazua 6-1, 6-2.
‘Fears of this being an embarrassment, a grim addendum to her legacy, proved unfounded’
Perversely, in many ways, this was a good result for Williams: a strong enough performance to prove that she is still competitive, and a frustrating enough defeat that she will want more. As the match ticked into its third hour Centre Court remained full, utterly engrossed, willing its old heroine on. Fears of this being an embarrassment, a grim addendum to her legacy, proved unfounded.
So the old fire has been reignited. The question now is, how far can she go?
Serena Williams: ‘ I definitely relished it and missed it’
Serena Williams will not be doing a press conference this evening, it has just been announced. Instead, the 44-year-old has released a statement describing her emotions after walking back out onto Centre Court and playing her first singles match in four years.
“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.”
Centre Court rises for Serena Williams
Just stepping onto Centre Court, Serena Williams became the second-oldest player to appear in a Wimbledon main draw match and oldest since a 47-year-old Martina Navratilova in 2004.
Williams said she had “no expectations” ahead of her return, but predicted nerves. I wonder if she got what she was looking for? And when will we see her play singles again?
Maya Joint reacts to beating Serena Williams at Wimbledon
Fair play to Maya Joint. Remember the name!
Maya Joint on ending her losing streak: ‘I had the belief’
Maya Joint had lost 11 matches in a row before stepping out to face Serena Williams at Wimbledon.
“My last couple of matches have been pretty good, I think I have been playing competitively in them!” the 20-year-old, ranked 87th in the world, said.
“Even though I haven’t won many matches this year, I still had the belief that I could win and I just took advantage of the moment and enjoyed it.
“I didn’t think about the previous matches I’d played.”
Serena Williams will return later this week to play doubles with Venus
The Williams sisters last played doubles together at the 2022 US Open. Venus Williams, who is 46, plays sporadically but still sometimes accepts wildcards into grand slams.
With a combined age of 90, the Williams sisters will play their first-round doubles match on either Thursday 2 July or Friday 3 July at the start of the women’s doubles tournament.
The Williams sisters last played doubles together at the 2022 US Open. Venus, who is 46, plays sporadically but still sometimes accepts wildcards into grand slams.
The Williams sisters will play the unseeded South American pair Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra in the first round. Osorio, from Colombia, and Sierra, from Argentina, will be playing as a duo for the first time.
Together, Serena and Venus have won six Wimbledon doubles titles, a record they share with Suzanne Lenglen and Elizabeth Ryan, and their last title came in 2016.
So Williams is not waving goodbye just yet.
Maya Joint: ‘I don’t know what just happened – she’s a legend’
“I didn’t get much sleep last night, I was up until 2am just thinking about it. Walking out, I forgot the warm up, I don’t know what happened. My legs weren’t moving. I really don’t know how I got a pretty good start in the match.
“She has so much aura, she is such a legend. This court has had so many huge names that have played in it. I have been dreaming about this since I was a little kid so this is pretty crazy.
“Trying to come out on court and play a match against her. The start was nerve-wracking. Trying to finish out the match as well, I think she definitely lifted her level. She played some great tennis there.”
