Serena Williams Will Make Her Singles Return At Wimbledon ... Once She's Done Playing 'duck Duck Goose'

Serena Williams’ improvement backmost toward tennis continued Sunday pinch nan announcement that nan athletics has been eagerly anticipating.

“Just vanished a mean crippled of duck duck goose,” nan 23-time Grand Slam singles champion and mother of 2 wrote connected X hours aft Wimbledon announced that Williams will beryllium playing arsenic a chaotic paper introduction successful women’s singles astatine this year’s event, which originates June 29 astatine The All England Club successful London.

An eighth Wimbledon singles triumph for nan 44-year-old tennis fable would look unlikely. Williams’ lengthy hiatus has near her unranked successful singles, which could mean early matches against specified players arsenic defending champion Iga Swiatek aliases world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

Still, Williams has nan opportunity to necktie Margaret Court for nan astir women’s singles Grand Slam titles. Court won 13 of her 24 Grand Slams earlier nan Open Era began successful 1968; earlier that, only amateurs were allowed to compete successful Grand Slam tournaments. Williams is already considered nan record-holder for nan Open Era.

Also, Williams could move into a necktie pinch Helen Wills Moody for second-most titles astatine nan tournament. Martina Navratilova holds nan grounds pinch 9 Wimbledon championships.

Williams famously avoided nan connection “retirement” erstwhile she announced she was “evolving distant from tennis” successful August 2022. The pursuing month, aft losing to Australian Ajla Tomljanovic successful nan 3rd information of nan U.S. Open, Williams registered arsenic retired pinch nan International Tennis Integrity Agency.

After astir 4 years distant from competitory tennis, Williams’ comeback is now successful afloat swing. First came a doubles pairing pinch Canadian Victoria Mboko astatine nan HSBC Queen’s Club Championships successful London earlier this month.

The brace won their opening match against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of nan United States and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand 7-6 (2), 6-2 connected June 9 but had to forfeit nan adjacent round aft Mboko injured her near knee successful a autumn during a singles match.

Last week, Williams collaborated pinch Czech tennis prima Karolína Muchová astatine nan WTA 500 Berlin Open, wherever they mislaid their opening lucifer to Giuliana Olmos of Austria and Routliffe 6-4, 6-4.

On Tuesday, The All England Club announced that Williams and sister Venus had accepted a doubles chaotic paper invitation for Wimbledon. The Williams sisters person won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together, including six astatine Wimbledon.

At that point, 1 chaotic paper introduction remained unfastened for women’s singles — a truth that a newsman mentioned to Williams past week during a news conference successful Berlin and asked if she mightiness return it. Williams played coy successful her response.

“Oh my gosh, there’s immoderate left?” Williams said. “We amended get to practice.”

The newsman pressed pinch his question.

“That’s nan mobility of nan hour, right?” Williams said. “I don’t know. I don’t know. I wonderment why there’s — I don’t know.”

Williams remained low-key astir her singles return connected Sunday, pinch her only acknowledgment being a repost of Wimbledon’s announcement on her Instagram Story.