Serena Williams and Venus Williams will team up in the women's doubles at Wimbledon after receiving a wildcard for the tournament. The 44-year-old Serena, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion and seven-time Wimbledon singles winner, returned to competitive action last week at Queen's Club, her first tournament since the 2022 US Open, which many believed marked the end of her career. She is currently competing in doubles in Berlin alongside Karolina Muchova, and will now make her Grand Slam comeback at the All England Club with her sister. Venus, 45, a five-time Wimbledon singles champion, has lost all seven of her singles matches this season but recorded a doubles victory in April with Britain's Katie Boulter at the Madrid Open. Neither Williams sister has been awarded a singles wildcard, though one women's singles wildcard spot remains unannounced. Former British number one Dan Evans, 36, will not receive a wildcard for the men's singles main draw, despite it being the final tournament of his career. Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, who is also retiring this year, has been granted a wildcard, along with Bulgarian player Grigor Dimitrov. Polish player Maja Chwalinska, runner-up at the French Open, has been awarded a wildcard into the women's singles draw in recognition of her Roland Garros performance. Wimbledon begins on Monday, 29 June.
Serena and Venus Williams are back on a Grand Slam court not through ranking or recent form, but via a wildcard meant to draw crowds and nostalgia. Their return highlights a shift from competitive necessity to legacy celebration, as neither has shown match fitness in singles this season. No Nigerian or African player is involved in this storyline.
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