Get to know Maya Joint: The stats, story and Serena Williams showdown

WIMBLEDON -- For days, the question surrounding Serena Williams' return to Wimbledon was the same: Who would be standing across the net for her first singles match in nearly four years?

On Friday, the draw delivered its answer: Maya Joint.

The Australian will face the seven-time Wimbledon singles champion in the opening round, marking the first meeting between the two. 

"It's an honor," Joint said Friday. "I always dreamed about playing Serena Williams, and if you'd told me 10 years ago that I'd be playing her first round at Wimbledon, that's just crazy.

"I have so much respect for her, and she was one of my idols growing up. I'm just really excited to have the opportunity to play against her."

Joint will be making her second Wimbledon main-draw appearance after falling in the first round a year ago. She'll face Williams on Tuesday.

"I think any match is winnable," Joint said. "I've gotten a lot closer in my past couple matches and I've been getting closer in the score and just playing the way I wanted to. Serena's still an amazing player, so it's going to be a difficult match, but I also think that I have a chance to win."

Maya Joint in a snapshot

Joint, who is from Michigan, but represents Australia, is currently ranked No. 53 in the PIF WTA Rankings. She's won two titles on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz., Rabat and Eastbourne, both in 2025 that helped her ascend to a career-high rank of No. 32 and becoming the top-ranked Australian by the end of last season. Ahead of 2025, she was ranked outside the top 100. 

Her 2026 season has been disrupted by a lower-back injury that forced her to withdraw from several tournaments. After Indian Wells, the 20-year-old was sidelined for two months before returning in Rome. Since then, she is 2-13 in main-draw matches and 3-15 overall.

"It's all good now," Joint said on the injury. "That was in Indian wells, I hurt my back. I was out for a little bit, but I'm good."

What she had to say about Serena

1. "I never thought I'd get the opportunity to play against her, because she had stopped playing when I first got on tour, so when I saw that she got a wild card to get back into a singles, there was always a part of me that wanted to experience playing against her.

"It's not something that a lot of people have been able to say they've done."

2. "I hope it's on Centre Court. That would be pretty cool. You just have to play the ball, you can't really think about who you're playing, because I'll just get too nervous [laughing], so I'll just take it one ball at a time."

3. "I think no one will be like Serena. I think she was one of a kind, but I think it definitely motivated some people, maybe changed a couple games styles as well.

4. "I remember a lot of Serena, Venus [Williams] rivalries. She's just a super aggressive player. I love the way that she would hit the ball so hard, I tried to do that when I was younger. I think it was just amazing to see how dominant she was throughout her whole career."

Get to know Maya Joint

1. In 2023, Joint relocated to Australia, where her father is from. Before the move, she'd visited the country only once -- as a baby -- so it felt like her first real introduction to Australia, she told wtatennis.com in December. She trains in Brisbane while her family is based in Melbourne.

2. When she moved to Australia, Joint did not have a permanent coach, and when traveling for tournaments,  she occasionally borrowed coaches from other junior players. Tennis Australia then partnered Joint with Chris Mahony, who is now Joint's full-time coach. 

3. Tennis Australia honored Joint as Tennis Australia's Junior Female Athlete of the Year in 2024, and she was a finalist for the prestigious Newcombe Medal, given to Australia's top tennis player male or female. Mahony received  Tennis Australia’s Coaching Excellence -- Performance award for 2025. 

4. Joint said that while she never saw Williams play live growing up, she often watched her on television. She added that she has not watched any of Williams' recent doubles matches, but will likely review video from Williams' most recent singles matches in 2022.

Compatriot Ajla Tomljanovic, who defeated Williams in her most recent singles match at the 2022 US Open, offered Joint some words of encouragement Friday morning.

"She she gave me a little pep talk, which was nice," Joint said. "[She said] that I can beat anyone and that she'll be just as nervous, probably coming back, first match at Wimbledon's not going to be easy. Everyone's going to have some pressures and nerves."

5. Joint knows the Wimbledon crowd will likely be behind Williams, and recalled facing Madison Keys in Arthur Ashe Stadium at the 2024 US Open as a similar experience. Her support team Tuesday will include coach Chris Mahony, her fitness coach, her mother and her agent. She said no additional family members or friends are making a last-minute trip.