---
title: "Serena Williams handed a Wimbledon Singles wild card, reigniting Grand Slam comeback excitement"
description: "Serena Williams makes a sensational return to Wimbledon Singles after a four-year break, grabbing the last wild card slot and reigniting excitement for the Grand Slam tournament."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "TENNIS"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-06-21-serena-williams-handed-a-wimbledon-singles-wild-card-reigniting-grand-slam-comeback-excitement/"
published: "2026-06-21T22:20:18"
updated: "2026-06-22T21:19:12"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 298
---

# Serena Williams handed a Wimbledon Singles wild card, reigniting Grand Slam comeback excitement

> Serena Williams makes a sensational return to Wimbledon Singles after a four-year break, grabbing the last wild card slot and reigniting excitement for the Grand Slam tournament.

By Reuters · Published 22 June 2026, 00:20 SAST · Updated 22 June 2026, 23:19 SAST

## Key points
- Serena Williams, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, secures a wild card entry for Singles, marking her return after a four-year hiatus.
- The announcement adds significant excitement to this year’s Wimbledon, starting 29 June, alongside her previous Doubles wild card with sister Venus.
- Williams’ last Singles match at Wimbledon ended in a first-round loss, yet her status as a tennis icon remains undisputed.
- Wild cards are reserved for prominent players returning from injury or those with notable careers, making her inclusion a major story.

## Content

American great Serena Williams will make a stunning return to Singles at this year’s Wimbledon after being handed the ​final wild card by the All England Club on Sunday.

The seven-time Wimbledon Singles ‌champion was already assured of a return to the championships for the first time in four years after accepting a Doubles wild card with sister Venus.

“This is not a ​drill,” the tournament wrote in a post on its Instagram account.

The ​announcement that the 44-year-old mother of two will play Singles will ⁠provide a massive storyline for the Grand Slam tournament that begins ​on 29 June.

The 23-time Grand Slam Singles champion returned to court after a ​four-year absence at this month’s Queen’s Club championships, playing Doubles with Canada’s Victoria Mboko.

She also played Doubles in Berlin this week. Williams, widely regarded as the greatest female tennis player in history, last played a Singles match at Wimbledon as a wild card ​in 2022, losing to Harmony Tan in round one.

After that year’s US Open, she ‌said ⁠she would “evolve away from tennis”, although she never officially retired.

Wild cards are handed out by tournament organisers to players whose rankings do not permit automatic entry and are usually reserved for home players, those with illustrious career records or high-profile ​players returning from ​injury.

Williams first appeared ⁠at Wimbledon in 1998, reaching the Singles third round. She won the title for the first time in 2002, beating ​her older sister Venus in the final, and went on ​to become ⁠the dominant force in the women’s game, spending a combined total of 319 weeks as the WTA world number one.

Williams added Singles crowns in 2003, 2009, ⁠2010, ​2012, 2015 and 2016 and also won ​six Doubles titles at the grass court major with Venus. **DM**