Serena Williams Gets Wimbledon Wild Card for Singles — Playing Her First Grand Slam in Years

Serena Williams is going back to Wimbledon — and not just for doubles. On Sunday, the All England Club officially announced that the 44-year-old legend has accepted a wild card into the ladies' singles draw at the 2026 Championships. If you're even a casual tennis fan, this is a very big deal.

For context: a wild card is basically a VIP invitation from tournament organizers. It lets former champions and other notable players skip the usual ranking requirements to get into the main draw. Serena needs one because, after nearly four years away from the sport, she has no current singles ranking to speak of.

Her last singles match at a Grand Slam was a third-round loss to Ajla Tomljanovic at the 2022 U.S. Open. At the time, she famously said she didn't want to use the word 'retiring' — instead calling it 'evolving' away from tennis. Now, at 44, she's un-evolving back in.

The comeback actually started a few weeks ago in doubles. She played alongside Canadian rising star Victoria Mboko at Queen's Club, won their first match, but had to withdraw when Mboko injured her knee. Then she teamed up with Karolina Muchova in Berlin, where they lost in the first round. Through all of this, the singles question hung in the air — and Wimbledon literally held open the final women's wild card spot just waiting on her answer.

And her answer? Classic Serena. As recently as this past Wednesday, after losing in Berlin, she seemed genuinely unsure. When a reporter told her there was still a wild card spot available, she shot back: 'Oh my gosh, there are some left?' Then she literally turned to her doubles partner and asked if she thought she was ready. Nobody got a straight answer. Then Sunday came — and there it was.

She'll actually be doing double duty at Wimbledon: singles AND doubles. The doubles partner? Her sister Venus. First time they've paired up at the All England Club in about a decade.

Here's the numbers that put it all in perspective: Serena has won Wimbledon seven times in singles (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016) and six times in doubles alongside Venus. She holds 23 Grand Slam singles titles total. The defending singles champion this year is Iga Swiatek, and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is the favorite. Because Serena has no ranking, she could theoretically draw either of them — or any top player — in the very first round.

If that sounds daunting, consider this: if she wins even one match, she'd become the fourth-oldest woman in the Open Era to win a singles match at a major. And at 44 years and 276 days, she'd become the second-oldest woman ever to compete in the Wimbledon singles, behind only Martina Navratilova.

Why is she doing it? She said it herself at Queen's Club: 'It's really about my kids getting to see me play.' Her older daughter Olympia is now old enough to understand what she's watching. Her younger daughter Adira is still very young — but these are the moments that matter.

Wimbledon starts June 29. The singles draw is revealed on Friday. Whatever happens on court, one thing's certain: Serena Williams walking out onto Centre Court again is must-watch television.