Maya Joint opened up about how she felt after learning that she would face Serena Williams in the first round at Wimbledon.
Williams returned to action after a four-year break, competing in doubles at the HSBC Championships and Berlin Open. She received a wildcard for the Wimbledon doubles draw, where she will partner her sister, Venus. She also accepted a late wildcard into the singles draw, where she will face Joint in the first round.
Joint said she was surprised by the draw and that she had always wanted to face Williams.
“I was excited,” joint told tennis australia. “I never thought I’d get to play against her. She stopped playing when I kind of got on tour. So when I saw that she got the wild card, I think there’s a small part of me that always wanted to experience playing her, and someone told me 10 years ago that I’d be playing at Wimbledon first round against Serena Williams, It would be ridiculous.”
Joint said she was nervous watching the ceremony and had to turn it off.
“We were watching in the car, but then I was getting too nervous, so we turned it off and then I was sitting down with my coach and I thought he was pranking me because he said, ‘Oh, you play Serena Williams.’ I was like, ‘Nah, you’re messing with me.’ But then Sam Stoser messaged and said, ‘You’re playing Serena Williams.’ OK, cool.”
Maya Joint on her mindset ahead of Serena Williams clash
In the same interview, Maya Joint was asked about how she plans to approach the match against Serena Williams.
“I think I just have to play the ball that’s coming at me, not really think about who’s on the other end or the amount of tournaments she’s won. Just play the ball coming at me,” said Joint.
“it’s like a pinch me moment. I’ll be excited to see what court we’re playing on, but I think I’m just so excited that this is happening.”
Serena’s last singles match was a third-round loss to Ajla Tomljanovic at the 2022 US Open. She has won Wimbledon seven times.
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