{"id":5537,"date":"2026-06-28T15:34:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T15:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5537"},"modified":"2026-06-28T15:34:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T15:34:25","slug":"serena-williams-gave-herself-a-pep-talk-to-play-singles-at-wimbledon-at-age-44","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5537","title":{"rendered":"Serena Williams gave herself a pep talk to play singles at Wimbledon at age 44"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Serena Williams of the U.S. reacts during a practice session, ahead of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, in London, Saturday June 27, 2026. (John Walton\/PA via AP)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

LONDON \u2014 Serena Williams had to talk herself into accepting Wimbledon\u2019s offer to play singles.<\/p>

Read more World Cup 2026 schedule, group standings and scores<\/a><\/p>\n

The All England club was holding one last wild card entry and the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion \u2014 who had already announced she\u2019d play doubles with her sister Venus \u2014 had a decision to make.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I should really take this opportunity. Who knows if I\u2019ll ever make it here again. This could be it,\u201d the 44-year-old Williams said Sunday at a press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018What\u2019s wrong with me, Serena? What are you thinking? Are you nuts? Like you really should do this,\u2019\u201d she added. \u201cPeople live to be an athlete. I have this great opportunity to showcase what I do, what I do best, I suppose. Yeah, I think ultimately I was like that is pretty cool, so I should do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams\u2019 first match at the grass-court Grand Slam since 2022 will take place on Centre Court on Tuesday evening when she faces 20-year-old Maya Joint of Australia as part of her evolving tennis comeback<\/a> .<\/p>\n

Williams had been away from the sport since her farewell at the 2022 U.S. Open.<\/p>\n

Her most-recent appearance at Wimbledon was in 2022 when she lost in the opening round<\/a> to Harmony Tan, who was then-ranked 115th. The American great walked away from tennis \u2014 she described it as \u201cevolving\u201d away \u2014 after losing in the third round<\/a> to Ajla Tomljanovic at Flushing Meadows.<\/p>\n

After earlier accepting a wild card in doubles, Williams described the process of making her decision for singles.<\/p>

Read more Chacarra wins Italian Open for 2nd straight European tour title and a place in British Open<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think it was on, I had until Monday to decide. I think it was like Sunday. I just wasn\u2019t sure up until then,\u201d she said. \u201cHonestly, I\u2019m still not even sure, but we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams is a seven-time Wimbledon singles champion but said Saturday that \u201cin general my expectations are definitely different for the first time in my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Defending champion Iga Swiatek opens play on Centre Court on Tuesday (1:30 p.m. local time), in keeping with tradition, against Taylor Townsend. That\u2019s to be followed by Taylor Fritz vs. home favorite Jack Draper \u2014 in what is one of the most intriguing men\u2019s first-round matchups.<\/p>\n

And then Williams-Joint.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, actually I know her. I\u2019ve watched some of her videos,\u201d said Williams, who paused for a moment before adding, \u201cI\u2019m sure she knows my game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michigan-born Joint slipped from No. 53 to No. 87 in the WTA rankings updated on Sunday.<\/p>

Read more South Africa scrapes past Bangladesh and leaves India needing to upset Australia at Lord\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP tennis: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/tennis<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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