Serena Williams has been publicly called out during her Wimbledon comeback by Harmony Tan, who claims the tennis legend blocked her on social media. The seven-time Wimbledon champion was defeated by the Frenchwoman back in 2022 in three sets, and tensions between the two appear to remain.
Tan's Accusation
The 44-year-old was battling to secure a winning comeback against a determined Maya Joint when Tan seized the moment to accuse Williams of bearing grudges. "So four years ago, after the handshake, she blocked me on Instagram also," Tan wrote on her social media, adding a laughing face emoji and a screenshot that seemingly demonstrated she's unable to follow her.
Tan had been the final person to beat Williams at Wimbledon before Australian Joint secured a memorable 3-6, 7-6, 3-6 victory over the 23-time Grand Slam champion on Tuesday evening. Tan, who currently sits 200th in the WTA rankings and didn't qualify for Wimbledon this year, stunned Williams 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (7) in a shock result back in 2022.
Williams' Early Exit
The triumph represented the biggest achievement of her career in what marked her maiden Wimbledon main-draw outing and had been Williams' final appearance at the All England Club before accepting a wildcard place in this year's competition. Sadly for Williams, it proved a familiar tale to 2022, as she departed in the opening round, falling in three sets to 20-year-old Joint.
Williams had threatened to mount a remarkable comeback after taking the second set in a tie-breaker to level the match, but ultimately ran out of steam towards the end as the younger player seized control.
Joint's Reaction
A visibly stunned Joint told Centre Court afterwards: "I don't know what just happened. I didn't get much sleep last night. I was up to 2am thinking about it. Walking out, I forgot the warm-up, I don't know what happened. My legs weren't moving. I got a pretty good start in the match. She has such an aura, she is such a legend. So many huge names have played on this court. I have been dreaming of this moment since I was a little kid, so this is pretty crazy."
"I tried to come out to this court and play a match against her - the start was very nerve-wracking and to finish it off was special. She lifted her level and played some really great tennis," Joint added.
Family Support and Future Plans
Prior to the match, Williams emerged to a standing ovation, with her box brimming with supporters, amongst them her two daughters, Alexis Olympia, eight, and Adira River, two. Yet the American's youngest daughter, Adira, was not permitted to remain in the box during the match, owing to the All England Club's strict age policy requiring children to be at least five years old to attend.
Olympia was, however, allowed to stay and sat next to her father, Alexis Ohanian, who did his utmost to urge Williams on to victory with an encouraging post on social media during the match. Whether this will prove to be Williams' final singles appearance remains to be seen, but she is set to return to SW19, having committed to the doubles alongside her sister Venus, a seven-time singles Grand Slam champion in her own right.
