Serena Williams lost to Maya Joint as she made her return to singles at Wimbledon.
The American legend fell to a three-set defeat on Centre Court against a woman 24 years her junior.
What did you make of Serena Williams’ level on her return to singles?
Serena Williams is OUT of the Wimbledon singles event…
Still, despite coming up short, Williams proved she belonged out there, and more importantly, proved that she was deserving of a wild card.
Serena Williams silenced wild card doubters with first-round Wimbledon performance
Williams received one of the eight Wimbledon women’s singles wild cards.
Some criticised the decision to give Williams a wild card, as she hadn’t played a singles match in four years, and last won a match at Wimbledon eight years ago.
Many believed that other players were more deserving of a main draw spot than the 44-year-old.
However, as it turned out, Williams looked competitive from the first point to the last on Centre Court against Joint.
Did she look like a Grand Slam contender? No, of course not. But did she look like one of the 128 best players in women’s tennis? Yes, she did.
Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash claimed Williams would have beaten 75% of the tour playing as she did against Joint.
Cash may have gone slightly overboard with that statement, but she did look impressive.
And while she lost her opening match, Williams won more games/sets than four other wild cards.
In fact, the only women’s singles main draw wild card that outperformed her was Great Britain’s Katie Swan, who advanced to the second round with a 6-4, 6-4 win.
Wimbledon women’s singles wild cards in 1R (1-7)
| Player | Result | Opponent | Score | Sets won | Games won |
| Katie Swan | WIN | Irina-Camelia Begu | 6-4, 6-4 | 2 | 12 |
| Serena Williams | LOSS | Maya Joint | 3-6, 7-6, 3-6 | 1 | 13 |
| Harriet Dart | LOSS | Jelena Ostapenko | 3-6, 6-3, 4-6 | 1 | 13 |
| Maja Chwalinska | LOSS | Mananchaya Sawangkaew | 6-2, 5-7, 2-6 | 1 | 13 |
| Mimi Xu | LOSS | Daria Kasatkina | 2-6, 6-3, 2-6 | 1 | 10 |
| Alicia Dudeney | LOSS | Alycia Parks | 3-6, 3-6 | 0 | 6 |
| Hannah Klugman | LOSS | Barbora Krejcikova | 1-6, 4-6 | 0 | 5 |
| Mika Stojsavljevic | LOSS | Belinda Bencic | 2-6, 1-6 | 0 | 3 |
Looking at those numbers, you have to admit that Williams deserved a wild card.
She did, however, receive criticism after the match for skipping her press conference duties.
Some argued that the 23-time Grand Slam champion disrespected the tournament and shouldn’t have taken the wild card if she wasn’t willing to speak to the media.
What do you think about Serena Williams’ behaviour at Wimbledon this year?
She skipped her post-match press conference and didn't have the warmest handshake with Maya Joint…
It has now been revealed that Williams suffered a knee injury during her first-round defeat to Joint, and that’s why she missed the press conference.
If anything, that makes her efforts all the more impressive, pushing Joint all the way when she was less than 100%.
The question now, is whether she will be fit to play doubles with her sister, Venus Williams later this week.
They are scheduled to play the South American duo of Solana Sierra and Camila Osorio on Thursday, July 2.
What does the future look like for Serena Williams?
Assuming Williams’ injury isn’t too severe, she has plenty of options to consider over the coming months.
Possessing more star power than anyone else in the history of the women’s game, she will have no trouble getting wild cards if she asks for them.
Therefore, we could see her play more singles events in the not-too-distant future.
The US Open would be a natural destination, although she may choose to play some smaller events beforehand.
Williams never steps onto the court wanting anything less than a win, but she will be especially determined to emerge victorious if she returns to Arthur Ashe Stadium
An appearance in Cincinnati or Toronto could do her the world of good before the US Open begins.
Only time will tell what the future holds for one of the greatest players of all time, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on.
