Serena, Venus Williams get Wimbledon doubles wildcard
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- Serena and Venus Williams received a Wimbledon doubles wildcard for the tournament beginning June 29, their first joint appearance since their last title together a decade ago
- Serena, 44 and winner of 7 Wimbledon singles titles, played her first match since 2022 at the HSBC Championships at Queen's Club, winning alongside Victoria Mboko before the Canadian withdrew with a knee injury; one final WTA singles wildcard remains unannounced
- Maja Chwalinska became the first wildcard in history to be seeded at Wimbledon, jumping from world No 114 to No 21 after reaching the French Open final from qualifying
- Dan Evans, set to retire after criticizing the LTA for lacking "class" over a Queen's Club wildcard snub, will play men's doubles with 2023 boys' champion Henry Searle; Nick Kyrgios, the 2022 finalist, will pair with Alexander Bublik
- Jack Draper, ranked 158 and recovering from an 8-month arm injury, qualified automatically for the main draw and recently added Andy Murray to his coaching team ahead of an Eastbourne return
- Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, retiring at season's end, and former Wimbledon semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov received men's singles main-draw wildcards
- Judy Murray told Sky Sports Serena played at an "incredibly high level" at Queen's and noted her children and husband watched courtside during the comeback
Why it matters: The Williams reunion is the lead, but the structural story is that one final WTA singles wildcard is still unannounced — meaning a 44-year-old could contest both draws at Wimbledon. The 2026 wildcards also produced the tournament's first-ever seeded wildcard (Chwalinska) and a Draper comeback now being shaped by Andy Murray in his corner.
