Serena Williams to make singles return at Wimbledon after accepting wild card

Serena Williams, 44, will officially return to singles competition after accepting the final Wimbledon ladies' singles wild card, the tournament announced Sunday on social media.

The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion and seven-time Wimbledon winner, Williams has not played a singles match since her initial retirement at the 2022 US Open, where she fell to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round. Earlier that summer, she made what was then her final Wimbledon appearance, losing in the first round to Harmony Tan.

Whatever sting those losses left will be replaced with new memories in two weeks, when Williams once again graces the court at the All England Club, where in addition to her seven singles titles, she boasts six doubles titles and another in mixed doubles.

Williams began her comeback earlier this month at Queen's, partnering with Victoria Mboko. They won their opening match over Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe 7-6 (2), 6-2 before Mboko withdrew ahead of the second round after suffering an injury in singles the day prior.

She returned to the doubles court last week in Berlin with Karolina Muchova, but the pair lost in the first round to Routliffe and Giuliana Olmos 6-4, 6-4. The result came shortly after news broke that Serena and her sister, Venus, had received a wild card into the Wimbledon ladies' doubles draw, though Serena declined to say whether she would also play singles.

Hints surfaced anyway. Ask in Berlin about the possibility, Williams laughed: "Oh my gosh, there's some left? Would you be interested if I took it? You think I'm ready for singles? I need to go to work."

Muchova didn't hesitate when asked for her view: "I think I would be interested in it," she said.

Now the answer is official. Williams, whose most recent WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz title came in Auckland in 2020 and whose last Wimbledon trophies (singles and doubles) came in 2016, will return to singles for the first time in four years -- giving her daughters, fans and even Muchova another chance to watch her on one of the sport's grandest stages.

It will be the latest chapter in a legacy that includes 73 career singles titles, 23 career doubles titles, 14 Grand Slam doubles titles to go with her 23 in singles and two in mixed doubles. She also owns WTA Finals trophies and four Olympic gold medals, achievements that, paired with her impact off the court, place her firmly in the GOAT conversation.