Serena Williams suffered defeat to Maya Joint in her much-anticipated return to Wimbledon following a four-year absence after an epic battle on Centre Court.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion stunned the world of tennis when she announced her return to the sport earlier this month at the age of 44 – and there were faint hopes of a fairytale victory on her favourite grass-courts in west London when she avoided the big guns when the draw was made last week.
Williams showed flashes of brilliance against her 20-year-old opponent from Australia and dug deep to save a match point in the second set to force a decider. But she ultimately ran out of steam to suffer a 6-3 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 defeat.
Joint had headed into Wimbledon having lost 11 matches in a row, but it did not show as she handled the big occasion and she seemed to relish in spoiling one of sport’s biggest storylines this year.
“I really don’t know what to say! I don’t know what just happened to be honest,” Joint said in her on-court interview.
“I didn’t get much sleep last night. I was up until like 2am just thinking about it.
“My legs weren’t moving in the warm-up, I really don’t know how I got a good start in the match.
“She has such an aura, she’s such a legend. I’ve been dreaming about this moment since I was a little kid, so this is pretty crazy.
“The start was so nerve-racking, and trying to finish out the match was hard as well.”
It was always going to be a tall order for Williams to pull off an unlikely victory – especially given her lack of competitive action over the last few years.
Her last singles match was back at the US Open in 2022 where she said she was “evolving from tennis”.
Serena Williams is cheered on by her family in her corner on Centre Court
In the intervening years, she has become a successful businesswoman, had her second daughter (Adira was born in 2023 while Alexis Olympia was born in 2017) and even made a cameo appearance during Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl half-time show last year.
On the eve of the Championships, Williams had spoken about her shock decision to accept a Wimbledon wild card and play her first competitive singles match in four years.
She said: “I was like: ‘What’s wrong with me, Serena? What are you thinking? Are you nuts?’ Like: ‘You really should do this’. People live to be an athlete. I have this great opportunity to showcase what I do, what I do best, I suppose. I think ultimately I was like: ‘That is pretty cool, so I should do it’.”
Yet her clash against Joint was a step into the unknown. Even though by now we should expect the unexpected when it comes to Serena.
Serena Williams all smiles as she makes her way to the All England Club
Williams won the Australian Open in 2017 when she was eight weeks pregnant with her first child and went on to return to the sport and incredibly reach the Wimbledon final only 10 months after nearly dying in labour.
Now a mum of two, after giving birth to a second daughter, Adira, in August 2023, Williams said the chance to play in front of her children was the driving force behind her sensational return.
“It’s really about the kids seeing me play. Olympia is a little bit older, Adira is very young. It’s components like that.”
With her family watching from her corner, Williams almost showed them what mum used to do week-in, week-out as she threatened to produce a stunning fightback.
After losing the first set 6-3 to Joint in 35 minutes, Williams kept battling her younger opponent to force a tie-break in the second.
Williams was staring down at match point when trailing 6-5 but produced a forehand winner to draw level and then produced a 120+ mph serve to earn set point and secured the set when Joint struck long.
But she began to run out of steam as the third and final set progressed and, after two hours and 22 minutes on court, her singles run was ended.
Her time at Wimbledon is not over, as she will compete in the doubles alongside sister Venus which starts later this week.
Williams: I definitely relished and missed it – ‘Great to be back, I enjoyed the moment’
Williams, who did not conduct a press conference on Tuesday evening, released a statement saying:
“It was really great to be back at Wimbledon. I never expected to be here.
“The atmosphere was amazing. Walking out was amazing.
“I definitely relished it and missed it and enjoyed the moment more than anything.”
Williams did not conduct a media press conference following defeat, releasing a statement instead
Boulter defeat continues British slump, but Swan stops the rot
Britain’s chastening start to Wimbledon continued on Tuesday with Katie Boulter crumbling to defeat against teenaged Italian Grand Slam debutant Tyra Caterina Grant but there was finally some home cheer as four players survived to round two.
Some 19 British players started in the first round after the injury withdrawals of Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper but 10 lost on Monday and another five perished on Tuesday.
With 30th-seeded Raducanu pulling out with a stress fracture, Boulter was Britain’s best hope in the women’s draw having two WTA grass-court titles to her name and an impressive victory against former Wimbledon champion and this year’s second seed Elena Rybakina this month at Queen’s Club.
Facing an 18-year-old qualifier playing her first Grand Slam main draw match meant Boulter was a clear favourite on Court Three, especially as prior to the qualifying tournament Grant had never played a match on a grass court.
But Boulter produced a nervy, ragged display and even the chants of “Let’s go Katie let’s go” fizzled out as she suffered a 6-4 6-2 defeat, the first time she had suffered a first-round loss at her home Grand Slam since 2017.
Boulter was soon joined through the exit door by Jack Pinnington Jones and Harry Wendelken as fears of a total wipe-out increased, following a winless Monday which was the nation’s worst day at Wimbledon this century.
But as the sun came out, things improved. There was finally a home victory to cheer as world No 196 Katie Swan beat Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu 6-4 6-4 in front of a joyous crowd on Court 16.
Katie Swan halted the British exodus at Wimbledon by claiming a first-round victory
Swan, 27, was once highly rated having won the Australian Open junior title but quit the Tour with a chronic back injury three years ago and took up coaching.
“It’s been a rough few years for me, getting back to a point where I can play a Slam again,” Swan said after her first Wimbledon victory for eight years, also against Begu.
“It’s kind of full circle to play her again and win today.”
After British No 1 Cameron Norrie’s defeat on Monday by American qualifier Michael Zheng, it was left to some of his lesser-known compatriots to fly the flag.
Arthur Fery, one of 12 British wildcards, beat Bosnian opponent Damir Dzumhur 3-6 6-2 6-2 6-1, although his win was overshadowed by him being called dishonest by his opponent.
In the fourth game of the second set Dzumhur thought his serve at 15-30 had caught the tape but no let was called and Fery won the point.
Fery, ranked 114th, played down the incident but said it got the “spark ignited” for his victory charge.
Jacob Fearnley hit back from two sets down to beat American Alex Michelsen while Jan Choinski easily beat Czech Vit Kopriva but there was heartbreak for wildcard Toby Samuel who pushed 15th-seeded Czech Jakub Mensik to the limit only to lose in a fifth-set tiebreak.
While British interest in the singles will last until Thursday, it has been a worrying start for a nation that despite the feats of twice Wimbledon champion and former world No 1 Andy Murray and Raducanu’s shock 2021 US Open title, still struggles to punch its weight.
“For British players in general, I think it’s a case-by-case. Honestly, I’m not sure (what the explanation is),” Boulter said. “I’m here just trying to look after myself and what I’m trying to do. I know what I need to do to improve.”
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