Serena Williams’ return to the Wimbledon singles event was cut short by Maya Joint on Tuesday evening.
Joint, the world number 87, fought valiantly to defeat Serena 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 in front of a partisan Centre Court crowd.
Serena produced some play reminiscent of her Grand Slam-winning form. However, the 23-time major champion simply could not maintain a consistent enough level throughout the contest to defeat the Australian youngster.
What did you make of Serena Williams’ level on her return to singles?
Serena Williams is OUT of the Wimbledon singles event…
It remains to be seen whether Serena will embark on any further singles campaigns following her defeat in south-west London.
If Serena does decide to participate in singles again, she will need to work on one key area of her game.
Sam Querrey says Serena Williams’ biggest problem was her movement
“The movement is obviously the number one issue,” Querrey, the former world number nine, stated on the Nothing Major Show.
“There were a lot of balls she just let go by her and wasn’t chasing down.
“If the ball was hit to her, she looked pretty good. I was honestly pretty impressed with Serena Williams at 44 years old.
“But I think what happened was what I expected. If the ball was hitting her strike zone she can rip it, if she had to get on the run and move a bit she struggled.”
John Isner, a Miami Open champion, agreed with Querrey’s argument.
“I think the one question mark going into this match was her movement,” he said. “It’s not her ball striking, I think she is one of the best ball strikers of all time, especially if that thing gets in her pocket on the forehand and backhand side, her serve and her motion can never fail her.
“It does not matter if she is 64 years old, let alone 44. You knew you were going to see some vintage stuff from there.
“But, yes, it was the movement, especially to the forehand side.
She moved pretty well to the backhand side from what I saw, but to her forehand side she let a few of those balls go, she just wasn’t as sharp getting to the ones on her forehand side, some of that has to do with playing on a surface she hasn’t played on for so long, but also she has been away from the game for so long it’s difficult.
“It will be interesting to see if that is something that improves as she continues to play more.
“I was relatively impressed with her today, the movement was not there though. That is something that I think can improve in time even though she’s 44.”
After losing on Tuesday, Serena can now look forward to competing in the women’s doubles event alongside her sister, Venus.
The duo are the joint-second most successful doubles player in Wimbledon history [in the Open Era].
Serena and Venus have won six titles at the All England Club, one fewer than Martina Navratilova won during her career.
The sisters are scheduled to play Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra in the first round of this year’s event.
However, the duo may not compete in the event after all, as Serena suffered a knee injury during her match against Joint on Tuesday.
Serena and Venus’ participation in the women’s doubles event has therefore been left uncertain.
Serena and Venus Williams’ Wimbledon doubles titles
- 2000 – defeated Daniela Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama in the final, 6–3, 6–3
- 2002 – defeated Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez in the final, 6–2, 7–5
- 2008 – defeated Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur in the final, 6–2, 6–2
- 2009 – defeated Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs in the final, 7–6, 6–4
- 2012 – defeated Andrea Hlaváčková and Lucie Hradecká in the final, 7–5, 6–4
- 2016 – defeated Tímea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova in the final, 6–3, 6–4
Where could Serena play singles next?
If Serena does decide to play singles again, the most obvious decision would be to take part in some of the events in the lead-up to the US Open.
This section of the tennis calendar includes tournaments in Washington, Canada, and Cincinnati.
Of course, Serena could decide to play singles at the US Open, should she receive a wildcard.
It would be a wondrous moment for the 44-year-old, who played her last match before her first retirement at the 2022 US Open.
In the third round of the 2022 New York event, Serena was defeated by Australia’s Alja Tomljanovic.
“I just thank everyone that’s here, that’s been on my side for so many years, literally decades,” Serena said during her post-match remarks.
“But it all started with my parents and they deserve everything so I’m really grateful for them.
“And I wouldn’t be Serena if there wasn’t Venus, so thank you Venus. It’s been a fun ride.”
