Serena Williams receives Wimbledon wildcard, returns to grass Grand Slam after 4 years

(Central News Agency, Paris, June 21,綜合外電) American tennis legend Serena Williams was awarded a wildcard for the Wimbledon Championships women's singles today. The All England Club announced the news on its official website with the headline "Serena is back," marking the 44-year-old's return to the grass Grand Slam after a four-year absence.

According to Agence France-Presse and Reuters, the organizers of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships announced the final wildcard spots for the women's singles today. Williams, who has won at the All England Club seven times, is one of eight players to receive a wildcard, signaling her official return to the singles court after nearly four years.

The official Wimbledon account posted "This is not a drill" with a photo of Williams on a grass court, writing "Serena is back." The post read: "@serenawilliams will compete in the 2026 #Wimbledon Ladies' Singles as a wildcard."

The star, who was once ranked world No. 1 and has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, has not competed in singles since the 2022 US Open. Her last appearance in the Wimbledon singles was in 2022, where she competed with a wildcard and lost in the first round to Harmony Tan.

Williams first appeared on grass courts in 1998 and reached the third round of singles. She won her first Wimbledon singles title in 2002, defeating her sister Venus Williams in the final. Since then, she has dominated the tennis world, holding the WTA world No. 1 ranking for a total of 319 weeks.

Williams appeared at the Queen's Club Championships last week, partnering with Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko in the women's doubles. They defeated the third-seeded pair of Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe in the first round, but Mboko later withdrew due to injury, and the pair was unable to continue.

Williams and her partner Karolína Muchová were eliminated in the first round of the doubles at the Berlin Open this week. A few days ago, she and Venus Williams were awarded a wildcard for the Wimbledon women's doubles. The Williams sisters have won six Wimbledon doubles titles together, with their most recent win coming in 2016. (Compiled by Qu Xiangping) 0622

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