SERENA WILLIAMS ACCEPTS WIMBLEDON SINGLES WILDCARD AT 44

Serena Williams will compete in the women's singles draw at Wimbledon later this month after accepting a wildcard entry. The 44-year-old has been allocated the final spot in the main draw, filling a vacancy created following the initial announcement on Tuesday. Williams has played two doubles matches since beginning her competitive return earlier this month after a four-year absence. She will discover her first-round opponent when the draw takes place on Friday, with the tournament commencing on Monday, 29 June.

Williams has won the Wimbledon singles title seven times but remains one victory short of Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles wins. She spent 319 weeks ranked number one and won 73 singles titles on the WTA Tour. She has not won a singles match at Wimbledon since 2019, when she lost the final to Romania's Simona Halep. When asked earlier this month whether she considered a singles return at Wimbledon, Williams stated: "You think I'm ready for singles? I need to get to work."

Former ATP professional Greg Rusedski cast doubt on Williams's prospects during his podcast Off Court with Greg Rusedski, stating that competing at 44 years of age presented considerably greater difficulty. Williams previously accepted a wildcard to play doubles alongside her sister Venus. She last competed in a Wimbledon singles match in 2022, when she reached a final-set tie-break against Harmony Tan before losing the encounter.