Serena Williams made an emotional return to Wimbledon, competing in the singles draw at a tournament for the first time in four years, in front of her family on Tuesday.
The 44-year-old icon sealed a remarkable comeback to the sport when she took to Centre Court at Wimbledon to face World No 87 Maya Joint in the first round after accepting a wildcard entry to the Grand Slam.
Many had been wondering whether – in the era of Naomi Osaka‘s catwalks entrances – she’d make a dramatic arrival. But the 23-time Grand Slam champion chose not to join the growing Wimbledon fashion show as she kept it simple on her long-awaited return to the All England Club.
Williams, a seven-time singles champion at Wimbledon, was calm and collected as she strolled confidently out onto the heart of SW19.
The crowd inside the iconic court broke out into a raucous round of applause, wildly cheering the tennis legend. Not that Williams would have heard. She kept her head down, ears covered by a pair of pale pink headphones.
Yet, no amount of soundproofing could have drowned out the eruption of cheers minutes later when she claimed the first point of the match on her opponent’s serve.
Serena Williams made her singles comeback on her return to Wimbledon on Tuesday
The legend was supported by her husband Alexis Ohanian and their two daughters
Tuesday’s first-round clash marks her return to SW19 for the first time in four years
It was tough not to feel for Joint, the echoing cheers making it clear that, even after a four-year hiatus, Williams was still very much the favorite and the Australian the underdog.
At just 20 years old, Joint is part of the new generation of female tennis players who have never before faced Williams on the court.
Tuesday’s first-round clash marked Williams’ return to SW19 and singles action for the first time in four years after having publicly stepped away from the sport following the 2022 US Open.
In the time since she ‘evolved’ away from the sport, Williams welcomed her second daughter, Adira, with Alexis Ohanian, who was in her box to cheer her on.
The two-year-old defied Wimbledon’s age restrictions for Centre Court to sit alongside her dad and older sister Olympia, eight, and watch her mom compete at SW19 for the first time.
Wimbledon traditionally enforces an age limit of five and above to attend the show courts. However, exceptions were evidently made for the daughter of a seven-time winner.
Williams’ posse of supporters was rounded out by her sister Venus and new brother-in-law, Italian actor Andrea Preti, whom Venus wed last year.
The sisters will form a powerful duo later in the week when they team up in the doubles draw, where they have found formidable success in the past, winning six times.
Ohanian sat in Williams’ box with Adria, two (left), and Olympic, eight, (right)
Williams’ youngest applauds her legendary mom as Ohanian lifts her up in the player’s box
Her sister Venus and new brother-in-law, Italian actor Andrea Preti, were also in attendance
Williams faced World No 87 Maya Joint in the first round of the Grand Slam tournament
For now, though, Serena had her own success to focus on. It appeared her comeback was destined to collapse just eight games into the first set when Joint broke her serve.
The cameras panned to the player’s box when an anxious Ohanian could be seen pumping his fists on the top of the railing. His wife displayed a similar explosion of determination moments later when she went 0-15 up on Joint’s serve, erupting into a passionate cry.
It wasn’t enough, however, to stall Joint’s momentum, the Australian taking the first set comfortably 6-3.
Williams’ renowned grit and determination did make its signature appearance in the second set, however. Staring down an early exit in straight sets, Williams clung on, breaking back Joint’s serve not once but twice to force a tie-break and ultimately win the second.
Long before the days of Osaka’s catwalk entrances, Williams was renowned as a tennis fashionista, having walked out in a white trench coat in 2008 as well as a detachable train to her outfit that featured one long sleeve in 2021.
Williams also famously caused controversy when she wore a bright purple headband in 2012 despite Wimbledon’s strict all-white dress code.
Yet despite that, she stepped out on to Centre Court for her opening round match with Maya Joint in a simple Nike white mesh jacket, over a matching co-ord top and skirt.
It was nothing on the grand entrance made by Osaka for her opening match, which saw the Japanese star sport a kimono inspired by Lucy Liu’s character from the film Kill Bill.
Nor, too, the custom all-white Hugo Boss suit worn by American Taylor Fritz, who did his best Roger Federer impression as he strolled out for his opening-round match.
Proud Venus appeared to film her sister’s blockbuster entrance onto Centre Court
Williams stepped out in a simple Nike white mesh jacket, over a matching co-ord top and skirt
The crowd inside Centre Court erupted into cheers as Williams and Joint stepped out
The 23-time Grand Slam winner let out a roar after claiming a point in the first set
Fritz channelled his inner Federer with matching white holdall, which drew instant comparisons with the iconic outfit worn by the eight-time Wimbledon champion.
The 44-year-old began her comeback to tennis – four years after her last professional match – at the Queen’s Club’s HSBC Championships, where she won a round before being forced out by an injury to her partner Victoria Mboko.
Williams had previously hinted at a potential return to the grass courts after kicking off her competitive tennis comeback in the doubles draw alongside Venus.
While many questioned if the veteran still possesses her titan talent, others may be more focused on the question mark over one particular detail of her preparation -whether Williams has continued to use GLP-1 jabs managed by telehealth company Ro, of which she became a vocal paid spokesperson for last year.
The seven-time Wimbledon champion’s husband Ohanian sits on the company’s board and was an early investor. As recently as this February Williams, the company’s celebrity face, featured in a Super Bowl advert for the brand and its Zepbound tirzepatide jab, which is also marketed under the name Mounjaro.
Williams, who is said to have lost close to two and a half stone, or 34 pounds (15kg) using the drug, previously called her challenge to lose weight following the birth of her two children ‘the one opponent (she) couldn’t beat’.
It remains unclear as to whether Williams has continued to use the drug, which also treats symptoms of diabetes, with her publicist declining to comment when asked by the Atlantic.
But although GLP-1s are not banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), they are one of the drugs under ongoing investigation as to whether they might be classed as performance-enhancing in the future.
Williams has previously been outspoken on her use of weight-loss medication through her role as an ambassador for Ro
Williams made her return to tennis and dominated at the Queen’s Club at the start of the month
Although Williams would be the first athlete to publicly use a GLP-1 if she was still using Zepbound, tennis has an existing relationship with weight-loss jabs, with semaglutide Ozempic a surprising sponsor at last year’s Canadian Open.
Before being able to announce her comeback, Williams had to return to the anti-doping testing pool.
However, the tennis legend took aim at the regulations when asked about returning to the pool on Sunday.
‘It’s grueling. They changed the rules now. I didn’t know some of the rules. So apparently if you miss a test outside of your window, it still counts as missed. I’m like, I guess I can’t go pick up my kids,’ said the seven-time Wimbledon champion, a mother of two.
‘It’s unprofessional. I hate it. I think it’s necessary, but I think a lot of the stuff, if I want to go places outside of my window, I should be able to go without having it count as a missed test.’
Players are required by the International Tennis Integrity Agency to provide their daily ‘whereabouts’ for no-notice testing.
Williams described it as ‘unreasonable.’
‘That was a big reason why I didn’t want to come back either,’ she said, ‘because it’s just so hard. I mean, my life is busy, I run a company, I run a VC company, I travel the world. I have children. It’s like I could be in so many different cities so many different times.’
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