Serena Williams Gives Candid Reaction To Comments That No One At Wimbledon Wanted To Draw Her Name In 1R

Serena Williams recently gave a candid reaction to comments that no player at Wimbledon wanted to draw her name in the first round. The main draw of the Grand Slam is scheduled to commence on June 29 and will conclude on July 11, 2026.

Williams retired in 2022 after competing at the US Open. Following a nearly four-year break, she returned to the sport in June and made her first appearance at the HSBC Championships. There, she competed in the doubles event alongside Victoria Mboko. Her second appearance came in the doubles draw at the Berlin Open doubles. The American is now set to make her return to Wimbledon in both singles and doubles events. In the latter, she will team up with her sister, Venus Williams.

The American’s opening-round match at the Grand Slam is scheduled for Monday, June 29, 2026, against Maya Joint. Ahead of the contest, Williams sat down for her pre-championship press conference, where she reacted to players reportedly not wanting to face her in the first round. One of the reporters mentioned Mirra Andreeva’s comment that nobody wanted to draw the 44-year-old’s name in the first round. Responding to this with a laid-back reaction, she said:

“Respectfully, it’s not surprising simply because I think anyone that’s done, it’s like the big four coming back, I mean, Novak is still here, but no one would want to play them in their first round. I can’t think of anyone that would want to do that. I just think that’s an immense amount of respect, which is yet another reason why I love her,” said Serena Williams.

She added:

“Also just natural feelings. Like, especially at a Grand Slam, you want to warm up, you want to play someone. No one knows how my game may or may not have evolved, what to expect, don’t know much. Those type of opponents are always very difficult to play. I think that has also a lot of things to do with it.”

Serena Williams opened up about returning to Wimbledon after four years 

During her pre-tournament press conference at Wimbledon, Serena Williams was asked how she felt when she walked through the gates of Wimbledon for her first practice session. She was also asked whether anything had surprised her after returning to the tournament following a four-year absence. Responding to the questions, she said:

“I can’t say I had a lot of emotions only because I think I was in Queens earlier and I was in London and I was on the grass and I think being in Queens in particular because it was in London. I was like, “Oh, this is real.” Like, I’m actually playing again. And so for here, it was more like, “Okay, I’ve been doing this for a couple of weeks.” And so it was kind of like riding a bike. And I didn’t feel a ton of stuff yet. Obviously when I play I might have a lot of things come up,” said Serena Williams.