Serena Williams will return to Grand Slam tennis for the first time in a year after being given a single wildcard entry by the All England Club at Wimbledon later this month.
The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, who hasn’t played since suffering an injury during her first-round match at Wimbledon 12 months ago, has dropped to 1,208 in the world rankings.
Earlier on Tuesday, Williams hinted that she would be at Wimbledon starting June 27, when she posted a photo of her white trainers on the grass on Instagram with the caption: “SW and SW19. it’s a date. 2022, see you there.”
The 40-year-old will return to competitive tennis next week at the Eastbourne International, where she has been given a wildcard in doubles with Tunisia’s Ons Jabur.
“I am excited to return to the Rothesay International Eastbourne in England and be back on the grass – a surface that has been very good for me throughout my career,” Williams said.
“Eastbourne has a unique charm you don’t see anywhere else on the tour and I look forward to playing in front of fans again.”
Williams won the last of her seven Wimbledon singles titles in 2016, but reached the finals in 2018 and 2019 after returning from having a child.
She burst into tears last year after retiring during the first set against Aliksandra Sasnovi due to a leg injury and doubts were growing about whether she would return to the game.
His longtime coach, Patrick Mouratoglu, revealed in April that he had taken on a new role alongside Simona Halep.
Wimbledon is widely regarded as the best chance for Williams to claim the 24th Grand Slam singles crown, equaling Margaret Court’s all-time record.
His last Grand Slam title came in 2017 at the Australian Open.
Wimbledon board member Tim Henman, who reached four semi-finals in the tournament, said: “It’s a good selection in the women’s side.
“Serena actually requested (a wild card) a couple of weeks ago and she is going to play at Eastbourne. Hopefully she gets a good chance to prepare for the grass court.
The rest of the wild card list was dominated by British players, with players including Katie Boulter and Liam Brody being placed in the singles main draw.
He will be accompanied by three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, who has recovered from a prolonged leg injury this season, and Dutchman Tim van Rijtthoven, who defeated Daniil Medvedev in the final of the s’Hertogenbosch grass court tournament on Sunday. .
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