Serena Williams is officially returning to the Wimbledon singles draw. The 44-year-old and 23-time Grand Slam champion accepted the final women’s singles wild card from the All England Club ahead of the tournament’s scheduled start on Monday. Because Williams currently holds no singles ranking, she will discover her first-round opponent during Friday’s official draw. She faces the immediate prospect of drawing top-seeded players like Aryna Sabalenka or Iga Swiatek in the opening round.
Tournament organizers allocated the spot on Sunday using their established wild card policy, which allows former champions to bypass standard ranking qualifications. Williams has spent the last month preparing on European grass courts through a series of doubles appearances. She secured a recent victory at the Queen’s Club alongside Victoria Mboko before an injury ended their run. Williams then traveled to the Berlin Open, where she and Karolina Muchova lost a doubles match to Giuliana Olmos and Erin Routliffe.
This marks her first singles appearance at the All England Club since a 2022 first-round loss to Harmony Tan. Williams has not won a singles match at the venue since her run to the final in 2019. In addition to the singles tournament, Williams is also registered in the 2026 Wimbledon doubles draw alongside her 46-year-old sister, Venus Williams.