Valiant Serena beaten on Wimbledon return, Swiatek survives scare
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xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoBy AFP and APPublished On 30 Jun 202630 Jun 2026Serena Williams suffered a dramatic first-round defeat on her return to singles tennis at Wimbledon as she succumbed to inspired Australian youngster Maya Joint, while Iga Swiatek started her title defence with a nervy win.
Williams lost 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 on Centre Court in her first professional singles match on Tuesday since “evolving away” from tennis in 2022, despite threatening a comeback after saving a match point in the second set. The 44-year-old showed glimpses of her vintage best but ran out of steam after breaking first in the decider, slipping to a third consecutive first-round exit at the All England Club, after suffering the same fate in both 2021 and four years ago. “I didn’t get much sleep last night, I was up until 2:00 am last night just thinking about it,” said 20-year-old Joint.
“The start was was very nerve-wracking. Trying to close out the match, she definitely raised her level.” Williams announced her shock return to the sport earlier this month and had played two doubles matches ahead of Wimbledon. The 23-time Grand Slam champion became the second-oldest player to feature in the Wimbledon women’s singles in the Open era, after nine-time champion Martina Navratilova who reached the second round aged 47 in 2004.
Williams was given a rousing reception when she stepped on to court, but the crowd could not push her to a famous victory, despite rapturous celebrations when she won the second set. She was given a standing ovation as she walked on court before the match started under a closed roof and several supporters held up signs with messages like “Welcome Back” and one wore a T-shirt with the text “Unstoppable Queen.”
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