Serena Williams will compete in Wimbledon women's singles this year after accepting a wildcard, returning to the All England Club at age 44 with the most compelling number in tennis hanging over every match: 23. Williams holds 23 Grand Slam singles titles, one fewer than Margaret Court's all-time record of 24. The case for why this matters is simple — there is no bigger prize left in the sport, and she has chosen to chase it on the surface she knows best.
The Wildcard and What It Signals
Williams received the final women's singles wildcard slot, which became available following a gap left after a previous announcement Tuesday. She had already secured a wildcard to compete in doubles alongside her sister, Venus Williams, but indicated earlier this month that a singles return was under consideration. The confirmation came at SW19, where Williams acknowledged the scale of the task ahead. "You think I'm ready for singles? I need to get to work," she said, per Yahoo Sports. That is not the language of someone coasting on nostalgia — it is the language of a competitor taking inventory.
The Gap in the Record
The competitive context demands honesty. Williams last won a women's singles match in 2019, a Wimbledon victory over Romania's Simona Halep. Since returning to competition after a four-year absence from the game, she has played just two doubles matches. At 44, the physical and competitive distance from the current field is real. What is also real: Williams has won seven Wimbledon singles titles and holds a career record of 107 wins from 123 singles matches on grass. No surface has served her better, and the draw — released Friday ahead of the tournament's June 29 start — will determine whether the bracket offers any opening.
A Legacy Already Complete, With One Chapter Unfinished
Williams has won each Grand Slam at least three times — the Australian Open, French Open, US Open and Wimbledon included. Alongside Venus, she has completed the career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles. Her singles record at 23 Grand Slams is the second-highest in the Open Era. The only remaining argument is with Court's 24.
At Wimbledon in 2022, Williams declined to call it her final appearance, saying simply, "Who knows where I'll pop up?" She has now answered that question. The argument she is making by entering is that the record is still live — that 24 is not a closed door. Whether the draw, the competition, and the body agree is what the next two weeks will settle.