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Serena Williams fought hard but eventually lost in her first singles match since 2022 on Tuesday at Wimbledon, falling to 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3, in the first round on Center Court.
There is a common axiom in sports that “Father Time is undefeated” and that was true in London on Tuesday night.
Williams, 44, had not played a singles match since the 2022 US Open, when she lost to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round in what many believed would be the final match of her storied career.
Instead, almost four years later, she returned to the grass at the All England Club.
Serena Williams lost to 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint in the first round at Wimbledon in her first singles match since the 2022 US Open. (Robert Prange/Getty Images)
And not just any court.
Center right.
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The same court where Williams won seven of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles, an Olympic gold medal and authored some of the most dominant moments of the modern era of women’s tennis.
This one was obviously different.
Williams entered Wimbledon as a wild card and with far more questions than expectations.
How much tennis did she still have in her legs?
Could her serve still carry her through pressure games?
Could one of the greatest competitors in sports history summon enough of the old Serena to make this more than a ceremonial comeback?
For a while, the answer looked complicated.
Joint, the 87th-ranked women’s player in the world, came out sharp and took the opening set 6-3. After the set reached 3-3, with each player holding each of his first three serves, Joint won the next three games, breaking Serena once to take the first set.
It was a reminder that nostalgia doesn’t win tennis matches, especially at Wimbledon, where the grass can punish even small dips in movement and timing.
Serena Williams reacts during her match against Maya Joint during their women’s singles first round of The Championships Wimbledon 2026 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
But Williams’ fought back in the second set.
Despite being broken in the first game and going down 3-1, Williams eventually forced a tiebreak. The 20-year-old Australian held match point with a 6-5 lead in the tiebreak, but Williams won the next three points to secure the match.
Williams came out strong in the third set and earned the first break for a 2-1 lead. But that’s when it seemed Williams’ age started to become a bigger factor.
Her daughters, Olympia and Adira, were in attendance along with husband Alexis Ohanian and sister Venus Williams. Venus is also scheduled to team with Serena in doubles at Wimbledon, giving the tournament another Williams sister moment after years of uncertainty over whether fans would ever see it again.
Williams has spent most of the past four years away from the tour after saying in 2022 that she was “developing away” from tennis. However, she never closed the door completely.
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She won Wimbledon singles titles in 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016. She reached four other Wimbledon finals. She and Venus also built one of the great doubles partnerships in tennis history, including six Wimbledon women’s doubles titles together.
So when Williams accepted a wild card into the singles draw, it immediately became one of the biggest stories of the tournament.
That’s Serena’s power.
Serena Williams celebrates after winning a point against Maya Joint during their first round women’s singles match at the Wimbledon Championships. (Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)
Even after nearly four years without a singles match, even at 44, even without real evidence that she could contend at a Grand Slam again, her presence changed the feel of the draw.
Unfortunately for Williams, she didn’t get the storybook result on Tuesday, but this was never going to go down as an ordinary first-round loss.
Not really.
Yes, Williams is out of singles ties after losing to a woman less than half her age. But the fact that she took the court at all is a story in itself.
Now comes the obvious question.
Was this just a one-off at Wimbledon or was it the first step towards another run in New York?
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The US Open main draw begins on August 30, and if Williams wants another singles swing this summer, Flushing Meadows would be the obvious place to do it. It was there that she played her last singles match before this comeback. This is where American tennis fans thought they were saying goodbye to her in 2022.
Maybe they did.
Maybe they didn’t.
Either way, Serena Williams taking the court at a Grand Slam tournament is good for tennis, especially in the United States.
And if Tuesday was any indication, plenty of people would be showing up to see her try again.
