Wimbledon, the oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slams, begins on Monday, June 27, and qualification is already ongoing. Several big names, including male world No. 1 and 2 Daniil Medvedev and Alex Zverev, are expected to miss the tournament, but one big name will make a dramatic return: Serena Williams.
Williams, 40, hasn't played singles tennis since last year's Wimbledon. She has been relatively quiet about a potential return, so much so that even a Vegas online casino wouldn't have been able to predict her declaring her entry in the Wimbledon Ladies' Draw.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion is entering Wimbledon as a Wild Card entry and could potentially spoil a top-ranked player's hopes of achieving Grand Slam glory. But can she go all the way and claim her eighth Wimbledon title?
Can Williams Really Win?
If we're going by sportsbooks' betting odds, Williams is one of the leading candidates to win the tournament at +1600. Only four other players (Simona Halep, Coco Gauff, Ons Jabeur, and Iga Swiatek) have more favorable odds.
Because of her pedigree and talent (she's a generational player who dominated the sport like a few others), Williams can definitely win a couple of matches and even play the role of spoiler to some top players.
A championship, however, is probably out of the question as great a story as it would be. Swiatek has won 35 matches in a row and has taken the crown as the top women's player in the world, and there are several others who could contend. Williams also hasn't won a Grand Slam since the 2017 Australian Open.
Also notable is the fact Williams is returning to the sport without longtime coach Patrick Mouratoglu, who is now coaching Simona Halep.
Past Wimbledon Results
A seven-time champion at Wimbledon, Williams last won the tournament in 2016. She was also a champion at the event in 2015, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2003, and 2002. Winning the tournament 20 years after winning her first Wimbledon title would be remarkable.
Williams didn't get out of her first-round match at last year's Wimbledon as she was forced to retire due to injury. Wimbledon was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Williams reached the final in both the 2019 and 2018 tournaments. She didn't compete in 2017.
Going back to her last Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open, she has reached but lost in four Grand Slam finals. Her most recent best result was a semifinal loss at the 2021 Australian Open.
Doubles Tennis with Ons Jabeur
While Wimbledon will mark her return to singles tennis, Williams has already officially returned to the court. Hoping to get more comfortable with the grass court, she played doubles tennis with Ons Jabeur, another betting favorite for Wimbledon, at the Eastbourne International.
The duo won a hard-fought, three-set battle in the Round of 16 and rounded into form with a straight-set victory in the quarter-final. However, Jabeur suffered an undisclosed injury in the quarter-final, making the end of Williams' doubles venture.
It's unclear if Williams intends to play doubles at Wimbledon. She won the doubles title there in 2016 with her sister Venus and is a 14-time doubles winner at Grand Slams.
Will Serena Keep Playing Regularly?
It's difficult to imagine Williams getting back into playing condition just for Wimbledon. However, the 40-year-old has clearly been preparing for a life away from tennis, and likely won't be competing on a regular basis moving forward.
She hasn't won the US Open since 2014 and is still one Grand Slam win away from Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam titles. So we should probably expect her to at least play at this year's US Open.
Beyond that, it's anyone's guess as to if she plans to play. She might just show up for Grand Slams in 2023, but it'll be tough to keep up with younger players while only playing sporadically.
