She’s backkkk!
Serena Williams is set to play at Wimbledon as a wild-card entry, ESPN reports.
Williams is an iconic tennis player who holds a record 23 Grand Slam singles titles. The powerhouse has won seven of her singles at Wimbledon, the most recent in 2016. In 2021, Williams lost her footing causing her right leg to get injured which led to Williams exiting mid-match, something she’d only done one other time during the Grand Slams in her entire career.
As a result of her inactivity over the past year, Williams’ name was absent from the women’s singles entry released by the Grand Slam tournament. Now, The All England Club has announced that Williams will play at Wimbledon after all, this time as a wild card entry for singles, marking her return to Grand Slams in an entire year.
The stage awaits.
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 14, 2022
Our 7-time champion @serenawilliams will return to Wimbledon as a wild card this summer for her 21st appearance pic.twitter.com/7ddMAv7mOq
Williams took to social media to announce her big return, captioning a picture of her tennis shoes on a grass court: “SW and SW19. It’s a date. 2022. See you there. Let’s Go.” The first “SW” are her initials and “SW19” is the Wimbledon postal code.
There were a number of other women given a singles spot in the draw on Tuesday alongside Williams which include British players Katie Boulter, Jodie Burrage, Sonay Kartal, Yuriko Miyazaki, and Katie Swan. The All England Club said there will be two other women’s invitations sent out before it’s all said and done. There were also seven of the eight men’s wild-card entries announced.
In Williams’ absence, there have been many tennis players that have risen through the ranks, mainly Ash Barty who won Wimbledon last year, and Iga Swiatek, who just beat out Coco Gauff to secure a French Open trophy and rise to the No.1 slot. Still, there is only one Serena Williams and her return to the court will definitely shake the match up.
We’re rooting for all things Serena! Let’s go, girl!
Photo Courtesy of Susan Mullane/USA Today