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Jun 30, 2026

Serena Williams, 44, suffers first-round defeat at Wimbledon

Serena Williams has made a wondrous career of bending tennis to her will but, as she attempted her most audacious trick yet, sporting logic caught up with her in the end.

Under the echoing roof of Centre Court, the 44-year-old seven-time champion returned after four years and did thrilling battle with a woman less than half her age. 

The mother of two used all her skill and resilience to save a match point and take the second set and, as 20-year-old Maya Joint wobbled, it looked as though Williams' champion aura might carry her through.

But tennis is a numbers game and when it came down to it, Serena's 23 Grand Slam titles were of less significance than the 24 years she conceded to her opponent. Joint, the world No 87 in the worst form of her life, won 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 on Centre Court.

'I didn't get much sleep last night,' said Joint. 'I was up until 2am thinking about it. My legs weren't moving in the warm-up, she's such a legend, she has such an aura. I have been dreaming about this moment since I was a little kid.'

This was Williams' first match at Wimbledon since she was hacked to pieces by the eccentric stylings of obscure Frenchwoman Harmony Tan in 2022. That was a rather embarrassing affair and part of Serena's motivation to return was said to be her desire to have a better ending to her Wimbledon career. 

Serena Williams lost her first round match at Wimbledon after returning to SW19 aged 44

Serena Williams lost her first round match at Wimbledon after returning to SW19 aged 44

The American waved farewell to fans on Centre Court after losing 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 on Tuesday

The American waved farewell to fans on Centre Court after losing 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 on Tuesday

If she decides against continuing her comeback tour into a second season, this thrilling generation game was certainly a more fitting conclusion to her love affair with the All England Club.

The first stage of Serenaissance came in doubles at Queen's and Berlin, and she is not done here at Wimbledon yet as she will compete with sister Venus here too. By also entering the singles, she significantly raised the stakes of her comeback.

She is the oldest woman to compete at a Grand Slam since Martina Navratilova aged 47, here in 2004. Were Serena to make a run here - or at the US Open in September which will surely be her next target - after four years away during which she had her second child, it would be an achievement to rank alongside anything in sport. 

But without the reassurance of a doubles partner she left herself exposed to humiliation.

As Tracey Austin said on the BBC before the match: 'It's a lot to put yourself out there. I wouldn't do it, that sounds like torture!'

Far from torturous, this was uplifting and thrilling. The greatest female tennis player in history can never feel proud in defeat but there was plenty of pride to take here. Pride especially in how she twice fought back in swashbuckling style from a break down in the second set.

This felt like a fiendishly difficult match to call, with the bookmakers pricing it as a 50/50. Of course, the younger player ought to win, but Joint has been stuck in an almighty rut this season, losing her last 11 straight tour-level matches.

The American legend was supported by her husband Alexis Ohanian and their two daughters

The American legend was supported by her husband Alexis Ohanian and their two daughters 

For Serena, the issue, as it was always going to be, was movement. She covered the court better than a middle-aged woman had any right to do but the data told the story: Williams won 50 per cent of point lasting four shots or fewer, and just 37.5 per cent of those that went longer.

There were exceptions - a lovely lob and a backhand pass on the run, skating for a winner via a clip of the net - but generally once the rally developed she tended to overhit, as if in a rush to end the point one way or the other.

But the bedrock of the Williams game has always been her serve, pound for pound the best in history of either sex, and that allowed her to be competitive here. The Aussie was struggling to make any inroads before the great champion produced two double faults in a single game to concede the decisive break in the first set.

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