Serena Williams returns to Wimbledon, loses to Maya Joint in first round

Tennis star Serena Williams made her return to Wimbledon with singles tennis on Tuesday, June 30, 2026. The 44-year-old suffered a first-round loss loss to Australian young talent Maya Joint.

Serena Williams defeated in first round of Wimbledon

Serena Williams was back on court at Wimbledon, playing her first professional singles tennis match since 2022. While the Centre Court was witness to her comeback, the American legend lost 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 to Maya Joint.

This loss marks her third consecutive first-round exit at the Championships, given she crashed out in the maiden round in both 2021 and 2022, before taking a break.

While Maya Joint emerged victorious, she shared how special it was to get to play against one of tennis' greatest. "I didn’t get much sleep last night, I was up until 2:00 am last night just thinking about it. The start was was very nerve-wracking. Trying to close out the match, she definitely raised her level", the 20-year-old said.

Serena Williams' comeback

Serena only recently announced that she would return to professional tennis and warmed up with two doubles matches before Wimbledon began on Monday, June 26, 2026.

With her appearance at the Grand Slam tournament, she became only the second-oldest player to feature in the Wimbledon women’s singles in the Open era, after Martina Navratilova who made it to the second round at 47, back in 2004.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion was given a grand welcome by the audience when she came out on court and despite her loss, displayed some classic Serena moves.

Serena's last Grand Slam win came in 2017 at the Australian Open, while she was carrying her first child, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. Now that she is out of the singles, she will gear up to for the women's doubles event along with her sister Venus Williams, as tennis fans prepare to watch the iconic duo on court.

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