‘Who knows if I will ever make it here again? This could be it’

Serena Williams, the holder of seven Wimbledon singles titles who ‘evolved away’ from tennis, shares why she's back

- Tumaini Carayol

For two long weeks, since her return to the courts of a professional tennis tournament at the Queen’s Club, a clock was ticking in Serena Williams’s mind.

She had already committed to making her comeback in doubles at 44 after four years away from the sport, but doubles only requires a player to cover half a court with the help of a partner. The real question was whether she would dare to put herself on the line again in singles against the best players in the world.

Williams’s decision to supercharge her comeback by taking a singles wildcard into Wimbledon, it turned out, was exactly as last minute as it appeared. She was only announced as the final wildcard for the women’s singles on Sunday 21 June, one day before the qualifying draw was made: “I had until Monday to decide. I think it was like Sunday. I just wasn’t sure up until then. Honestly, I’m still not even sure, but we’ll see?” Williams says, smiling, in her pre-tournament press conference.

Whether or not she gains clarity in her decision by the time she steps on the court, there is no going back. Williams, a 14-time Wimbledon champion across the women’s singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles competitions, and a double Olympic gold medallist on these grounds during London 2012, will return to Centre Court tomorrow afternoon to face Australia’s Maya Joint in her first singles match since “evolving away” from competitive play following her exit from the 2022 US Open.