Venus and Serena Williams recently took the tennis world by storm by accepting a doubles wildcard for the 2026 Wimbledon Championships, reviving their iconic partnership that includes 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and three Olympic gold medals.
However, the excitement has reached an entirely new level now that Serena has also received a singles wildcard for the grass-court Major, where she has won seven of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles.
How the Tennis World Reacted to Serena Williams’ Wimbledon Singles Wildcard
Serena Williams, who initially retired from professional tennis at the 2022 US Open, generated major buzz when she returned to the tour during the grass-court season. However, the American played only doubles at the Queen’s Club Championships and the Berlin Tennis Open, and her doubles partnership with Venus Williams at Wimbledon only fueled speculation that a singles return was not on the horizon.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion has now put those beliefs to rest and created a frenzy by entering the singles draw at the grass-court Major. Her husband, Alexis Ohanian, was among the first to enthusiastically celebrate the news.
“She’s back,” he posted.
She’s back https://t.co/347wG3JvAi
— Alexis Ohanian 🗽 (@alexisohanian) June 21, 2026
Boris Becker and Eugenie Bouchard also expressed their delight over the announcement.
“Wonderful news from Serena & Wimbledon!” Becker posted.
“Screaming crying throwing up,” Bouchard commented.
Tennis journalists José Morón, Jon Wertheim, and Scott Barclay all welcomed the “surreal” development of the former world No. 1’s return to the singles court.
“It’s not that it’s the news of the month, not even of the year… it might be the news of the DECADE 🤯 Serena Williams IS BACK, and she does so at 44 years old after several years retired. I don’t know what level we’ll see from her, but what is certain is that she’ll hook us all to the television in her return,” Morón said.
“And Serena gets the @wimbledon wild card…this will be fun,” Wertheim wrote.
“Serena Williams playing at Wimbledon in the women’s singles this year is genuinely surreal stuff. Legend of the game that we all thought was done for good… An absolutely insane timeline to be living in,” Barclay posted.
Barclay also pushed back against the fans who were complaining about Williams’ wildcard and deeming it a slight to Dan Evans. Evans was not awarded a singles wildcard despite announcing that this year’s Wimbledon would be the final tournament of his career.
“I think Dan Evans probably deserved a wildcard for his last Wimbledon as much as the next person but I’ve just seen a tweet complaining that they gave one to SERENA WILLIAMS so why not Evans and I just think we all need to take a step back and try to be serious for a minute. 😂,” Barclay commented.
Meanwhile, tennis analyst Christian’s Court suggested that Williams would’ve been included among the top eight contenders in the pre-tournament odds if the news of her wildcard had broken earlier.
“Feel like they’d put Serena in the top-eight if her singles WC was announced before the broadcast 😭,” the post read.
feel like they’d put Serena in the top-eight if her singles WC was announced before the broadcast 😭 https://t.co/ksEH9iRzpR
— Christian’s Court (@christianscourt) June 21, 2026
MORE: Serena Williams’ Daughters Reunite With Father Alexis Ohanian As Wimbledon Nears
Serena Williams has already arrived at Wimbledon and begun training on the grounds where she enjoyed some of the greatest moments of her career. The 23-time Grand Slam champion has been making memories with her daughters, Olympia and Adira, at SW19, while her husband, Alexis Ohanian, also flew in to join the family.
