Serena Williams acknowledged hesitation before accepting a wild card to play singles at Wimbledon, a decision she debated with herself intensely. The tennis icon, who returned to the sport in doubles earlier this month, stated she had to convince herself to take the opportunity.
"I thought I should really take this opportunity. Who knows if I’ll ever make it here again. This could be it," Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, told reporters. "I was like, ‘What’s wrong with me, Serena? What are you thinking? Are you nuts? Like you really should do this.' People live to be an athlete. I have this great opportunity to showcase what I do, what I do best, I suppose. Yeah, I think ultimately I was like ‘That’s pretty cool, so I should do it.'"
Williams made her final decision to accept the singles wild card one day before the deadline. She indicated that she is "still not even sure" about her return to singles play. She had previously announced her "evolution" away from tennis in 2022, without using the term retirement, and had not competed since then before her comeback this year.
Her return to the court began with doubles play at the Queen’s Club tournament, where she teamed with 19-year-old Victoria Mboko. She later played with Karolina Muchova at the Berlin Open. Williams and her sister Venus last won a Wimbledon title in 2016.
For her singles match at Wimbledon, Williams is scheduled to face 20-year-old Maya Joint of Australia. "Yeah, actually I know her. I’ve watched some of her videos. I’m sure she knows my game," Williams said. She anticipates feeling nervous, a sensation she has experienced throughout her career, viewing it as a sign of her passion and dedication.
"I expect to be nervous," she said. "I was also nervous every single match I ever played in my life. I think that showed the passion and the love and the care, that I cared about my job, whether it was the first round or the second round or the finals. I’ve always had some nerves. But then I just dust ’em off, then I move on."