Friday’s Wimbledon – Serena Williams, 44, will learn Friday who she faces in the first round of Wimbledon in her first singles match in nearly four years. The draw comes as she returns to the All England Club after accepting a wild card and preparing to also play doubles with Venu
LONDON — Serena Williams is heading toward Wimbledon’s first big moment of her comeback: not the match itself, but the draw that will determine who she faces.
Williams will learn her first-round singles opponent Friday, when the tournament bracket is set. She’s 44 and will be stepping into singles for the first time in nearly four years. after a return that began with two doubles warmup matches and accelerated once the All England Club announced Sunday that she would play singles.
It’s the kind of decision that turns heads for two reasons at once: Williams is a seven-time Wimbledon singles champion. and she’s entering this tournament without a ranking. Because seedings and matchups typically follow rankings. her first opponent could be someone stacked high in the draw — potentially even a player like defending champion Iga Swiatek or No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Williams also accepted a wild-card entry to the grass-court Grand Slam. Alongside her singles return, she will compete in doubles with her older sister Venus, who turned 46 last week.
Her comeback story has plenty of momentum, but the singles pause is still the defining feature. Williams hasn’t played a singles match since a third-round loss to Ajla Tomljanovic at the 2022 U.S. Open. After that defeat. she said she didn’t want to use the word “retiring” and instead described herself as “evolving” away from tennis. Her second daughter was born in 2023.
At Wimbledon itself, her most recent appearance in 2022 ended early, with a loss in the opening round to then-115th-ranked Harmony Tan.
The draw will also reflect where the rest of the sport is right now. On the men’s side, No. 1 Jannik Sinner is the defending singles champion and the top seed. On the women’s side, Sabalenka is the tournament’s top seed. Wimbledon seedings follow the ATP and WTA rankings.
Novak Djokovic, a seven-time champion at the All England Club, is the No. 7 seed. Two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz will miss this year’s tournament because of a wrist injury. Alcaraz lost to Sinner in the 2025 final.
Wimbledon starts on Monday.
For Williams, Friday’s draw is the hinge point. After years away from singles. she’s not just returning to a tournament where she’s already etched her name seven times. She’s walking into a first-round matchup that could come with a familiar kind of test — one defined by ranking. pedigree. and the sheer reality that on grass. the draw can decide how quickly a story gets complicated.
Serena Williams Wimbledon draw first round wild card Venus Williams Iga Swiatek Aryna Sabalenka Jannik Sinner Novak Djokovic Carlos Alcaraz Harmony Tan Ajla Tomljanovic