Serena Williams’ Wimbledon campaign was halted at the first hurdle on Tuesday evening.
Maya Joint defeated Serena 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 on Wimbledon Centre Court, setting up an enticing clash with Alexandra Eala in the second round.
The occasion marked Serena’s first singles match since losing to Alja Tomaljanovic at the 2022 US Open.
Serena is far from the first player to have returned to the professional circuit while aged in their 40s.
What did you make of Serena Williams’ level on her return to singles?
Serena Williams is OUT of the Wimbledon singles event…
Martina Navratilova did so in 2000 – six years after her initial retirement.
The Czech American achieved great success across all tennis formats, including singles.
Navratilova, a nine-time singles champion at Wimbledon, has now stated whether she believes Serena Williams will ever compete in a WTA singles event following her loss on Tuesday.
Martina Navratilova believes Serena Williams will play singles at the US Open
Jim Courier began the Tennis Channel discussion by identifying the positives and negatives of Serena’s Wimbledon comeback.
The four-time major champion praised Serena’s ball striking, while also noting the American’s struggles with movement on the slick grass surface.
Martina Navratilova also commented on Serena’s slower reaction speeds during Tuesday’s contest.
“And that’s what I remember when I got older, I just had to like remind myself to run,” the Czech-American said. “I could see it, I could see it, but I couldn’t react, and that’s what I felt like.
“She’s faster than what she showed out there because it just… the reaction’s not there, and that comes from not having played, getting older. But most of all, not having played – maybe more than the age.
“But she had her chances. She was at the net only 11 times – won nine points. She needed to get forward more. But that also comes from just giving yourself time, [she] didn’t want to you know take it away from herself.
“I hope we get a chance to see her play singles again because I think she’ll be more relaxed,” Courier [pictured below] later remarked.
“You cannot replicate what it feels like to play a match. Even a doubles match doesn’t bring the same adrenaline surge – at least in my career, it never did – that singles did, when it’s all on you and the responsibilities there.
“She’s going to be sore tomorrow. She’s going to be more tired than she would probably imagine tomorrow because the adrenaline will be out of her body. It’s flushed. But, man, what a rush that must have been for her to be back in combat.
“I hope we get to experience that again as fans, and I hope she gets to feel that again and not be maybe quite as stressed about playing on Centre Court, Wimbledon, the first one back.”
Serena Williams’ results since returning to tennis
- Queen’s Women’s Doubles: Serena and Victoria Mboko defeated Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez 7-6, 6-2
- Berlin Women’s Doubles: Serena and Karolina Muchova lost to Erin Routliffe and Giuliana Olmos, 4-6, 4-6
- Wimbledon Women’s Singles: Maya Joint defeated Serena 6-3, 6-7, 6-3
When asked if he thought Serena would play singles again, Courier added: “Clearly I want to, and I think the right thing to do – if she does have an intention of playing – is to look into playing, whether it’s a Washington, DC or whether it’s in Canada or in Cincinnati.
“But get at least one tournament in the run-up to the US Open. That would make some sense to me.
Navratilova agreed with Courier’s assessment, stating: “I think if the body holds up, if she feels good, I think she’ll think that she can do better than this because she can just from getting some matches under her belt.
“And the US Open crowd, hello!
“So my over and under is, chances are she’s going to show up in the [US] Open.”
Serena Williams’ first appearance at the US Open
Serena made her debut appearance at the US Open in 1998.
The American, then only 17 years old, defeated Australia’s Nicole Pratt 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the first round.
Serena continued to perform at a high level in the following round, beating qualifier Pavlina Nola 6-2, 6-1.
Ninth seed Irina Spîrlea ended Serena’s run in the third round, beating the youngster 6-3, 0-6, 7-5.
Venus Williams, Serena’s sister, reached the semi-finals before losing to Lindsay Davenport.
In the mixed doubles event, Serena won her second career Grand Slam title alongside Belarus’ Max Mirnyi.
Williams and Mirnyi defeated Lisa Raymond and Patrick Galbraith in the final, 6–2, 6–2.
Two months earlier, Serena won her first Grand Slam title alongside Mirnyi in the Wimbledon mixed doubles event.
