Serena Williams was missing from the initial player list posted by Wimbledon 2022, but now the tournament has confirmed that the 23-time Grand Slam champion will enter the event as a wildcard.
It’s been almost a year since Serena last competed. Her latest match was a retirement in the first round of last year’s Wimbledon in late June. Backstage at a bitcoin conference in April, Serena chatted with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rogers and hinted a comeback at The Championships: “We’ve been talking about my comeback and he’s been hyping me up, getting me ready for Wimbledon. Can’t wait!”
Now the speculations are confirmed, as Serena has been announced among Wimbledon ladies’ singles wildcards on Tuesday. Other ladies’ singles wildcards are all British players: Katie Boulter, Jodie Burrage, Sonay Kartal, Yuriko Miyazaki, and Katie Swan. Serena’s elder sister Venus Williams is not listed as a wildcard in the initial batch, but the five-time Wimbledon champion could still be given one of the remaining two spots.
The 40-year-old Serena will warm up for Wimbledon by playing doubles with Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur at the June 19-25 Rothesay International Eastbourne.
The former world No.1 Serena is a seven-time singles champion at the All England Club. Her last singles title there came in 2016.
