Serena Williams Accepts Wimbledon Singles Wild Card at
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- Serena Williams accepted the All England Club's wild-card invitation to play singles at Wimbledon, the eighth and final women's spot, announced Sunday, June 21, 2026.
- Williams, 44, had returned to competition in doubles after nearly four years away and will also play doubles at Wimbledon with older sister Venus Williams, the first time she has entered a singles major since a third-round loss to Ajla Tomljanovic at the 2022 US Open.
- Earlier in the week, after a doubles loss in Berlin with partner Karolina Muchova, Williams publicly wavered, telling a reporter, "Do you think I'm ready for singles?" before ultimately accepting the invitation.
- Williams owns 23 Grand Slam singles titles, including seven at Wimbledon (most recently 2016), and 14 Grand Slam doubles titles—all with Venus—six of which came at the All England Club, where the sisters also swept singles and doubles gold at the 2012 London Olympics.
- Because Williams has no singles ranking after her long absence, she could be drawn against defending champion Iga Swiatek or world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the opening round when the draw is held Friday; Wimbledon main-draw play begins June 29.
- Williams had not entered any grass-court tune-up singles events, and her only competitive match wins since returning came in doubles at Queen's Club with Victoria Mboko, a pairing that ended when Mboko injured her knee in a separate singles match.
Why it matters: Wimbledon effectively reserved its final women's wild card for Williams—a seven-time champion there—giving the tournament's biggest possible draw a slot despite her having no singles ranking and no singles prep events on grass, and exposing her to a potential first-round matchup against Iga Swiatek or Aryna Sabalenka.
