Serena Williams made her return to competitive singles tennis at Wimbledon on Wednesday following a four-year hiatus but was defeated in the first round by Australia’s Maya Joint. The 44-year-old American, competing via a wildcard entry, lost 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3, ending her bid to become the oldest woman to win a singles match at the All England Club since Martina Navratilova in 2004. Williams expressed gratitude for the warm reception from the crowd, saying she enjoyed the experience despite the loss.
Joint, who was born after Williams captured the first of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles, will face Filipino 29th seed Alexandra Eala in the second round.
Defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek advanced with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory over American Taylor Townsend. Swiatek overcame a mid-match dip to secure the win. Fellow Americans Amanda Anisimova and former finalists Jasmine Paolini and Karolina Pliskova also progressed. Anisimova convincingly defeated qualifier Lina Gjorcheska 6-3, 6-2. Paolini rallied from dropping the opening set to beat Robin Montgomery 0-6, 6-4, 7-5, while Pliskova won 6-3, 6-4 against fellow Czech Tereza Valentova. Former champion Elena Rybakina overcame Lois Boisson 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. However, eighth seed Elina Svitolina’s run ended when she lost to compatriot Daria Snigur 7-5, 6-2.
On the men’s side, Alexander Zverev, fresh off his French Open title, won a closely contested first round match against Alexander Blockx 6-4, 6-7(8), 7-6(5), 7-6(0). Grigor Dimitrov, granted a wildcard after last year’s injury-forced exit, reached round two by defeating Dane Sweeny 7-6(4), 6-3, 7-5.
The tournament’s highest-ranked men’s casualty was fourth seed Ben Shelton, who fell in a nearly four-and-a-half-hour battle against Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen. Virtanen triumphed 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(8), 6-2, 7-6(11-9). Sixth seed Taylor Fritz coasted to a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 win over Serbian lucky loser Dusan Lajovic. Other American players advancing included Patrick Kypson, Marcos Giron, and Zachary Svajda.
Wimbledon veteran Stan Wawrinka, 41, made his final appearance at the tournament but was eliminated by Matteo Berrettini in a marathon four-set match decided by multiple tiebreaks, 6-7(7), 7-6(16), 7-6(7), 7-6(5).
Local fans had reason for optimism as British players Katie Swan, Arthur Fery, and Jacob Fearnley all moved into the second round. Australian Alex de Minaur, engaged to British player Katie Boulter and often considered an honorary Briton, also advanced on Wednesday.