Serena Williams will face Australia's Maya Joint in the first round of Wimbledon, marking her long-awaited return to singles competition after four years of retirement. The match pits two players born nearly 25 years apart: Williams, 44, against Joint, 20.
Williams' Path Back to Centre Court
Joint, who won Eastbourne last year, has struggled this season with a 3-15 record. The winner of their first-round match could face the in-form Filipino 25th seed, Alexandra Eala. A potential third-round meeting with Iga Swiatek, the third seed and defending champion, awaits. Swiatek opens her title defence against Taylor Townsend. Both are in the bottom half of the draw, headed by Elena Rybakina.
Williams has not competed in singles since retiring at the 2022 US Open. Speculation about her comeback grew after she reappeared in the drug testing pool in December. She first returned in doubles at Queen's Club this month, and Wimbledon granted her a last-minute wildcard into the women's singles draw on Sunday. She also received a doubles wildcard with her sister Venus, a tournament they have won six times. Williams is a seven-time Wimbledon singles champion and 23-time grand slam singles champion.
Tough Draws for British Stars
Jack Draper faces a nightmare opener against sixth seed Taylor Fritz, a semi-finalist at Wimbledon last year. Fritz has excelled on grass, reaching finals in Stuttgart and Halle this month. Draper, competing in the Eastbourne semi-final later on Friday, has fallen from No 4 to No 160 in the rankings after an injury-hit year.
Emma Raducanu, the women's 30th seed, starts against Antonia Ruzic while managing an injury niggle. She could face former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the second round and is projected to meet world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the third round for a second consecutive year. Sabalenka opens against Teodora Kostovic, with fourth seed Jessica Pegula in her half.
Men's Draw: Djokovic and Sinner in Same Half
Novak Djokovic, chasing a record 25th grand slam singles title, has been drawn into Jannik Sinner's half of the men's singles draw. Djokovic, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, begins against China's Wu Yibing. He could face Stefanos Tsitsipas in round two; Tsitsipas, currently ranked No 88, has faced Djokovic in two grand slam finals.
Sinner, defending champion after his shocking French Open collapse, starts against Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia. The third seed, Félix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, is the highest-ranked player in Sinner's half. French Open champion Alexander Zverev, seeded second, and fourth seed Ben Shelton head the wide-open bottom half.
British men's No 1 Cameron Norrie, the 26th seed, begins against American qualifier Michael Zheng, with a potential third-round match against Auger-Aliassime.
