Serena Williams accepts Wimbledon singles wildcard, returning to singles after nearly four years

Serena Williams finally got the chance to shed the nerves that had been intensifying ever since she accepted a wildcard into the Wimbledon singles draw when she was greeted by a deafening roar as she stepped onto the most famous stage in tennis on Tuesday. Williams, 44, stepped back on the hallowed turf for the first time […]

Anticipation is building at Wimbledon for Serena Williams' first singles match in nearly four years. The 44-year-old Williams is scheduled to play an opponent less than half her age, 20-year-old Maya Joint of Australia, in the third match Tuesday on Centre Court - the patch of grass where the American standout won seven of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles. "I think everyone's feeling the same way: Cannot wait to be watching Serena back on Centre Court again," Sally Bolton, the chief executive of the All England Club, said Monday. Wimbledon organizers took the unusual step of holding up an eighth and final wild card spot for Williams until she accepted the invitation at almost the last possible moment the weekend before qualifying began. "We were all sitting there sort of quietly keeping our fingers crossed that that's what would happen," Bolton said when asked by The Associated Press how anxious the club was while Williams pondered her decision. "She is such an icon of the sport a

LONDON — Iga Swiatek is the defending champion. Aryna Sabalenka is the No. 1 women’s singles player. Serena Williams is the star, though, at Wimbledon. The 44-year-old Williams’ presence has been emanating throughout SW19 — the famous postcode of Wimbledon — as she prepares to play her first singles match at the event in four years Tuesday when she faces No. 53 Maya Joint in the first round. READ: Who is Maya Joint? She hopes to spoil Serena Williams’ Wimbledon party Mirra Andreeva, who just won the French Open, was basically crossing her fingers when the Wimbledon draw was announced. […]...Keep on reading: Serena Williams commands spotlight ahead of Wimbledon return

A decade after Serena Williams won her seventh Wimbledon singles title, the American trailblazer’s return next week adds a compelling new dimension to an already wide-open women’s draw. World number one Aryna Sabalenka will hope to climb from the deep, dark hole she fell into after collapsing to defeat in the French Open quarter-finals and […]