Serena Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, is set to return to Wimbledon after a four-year absence. The American trailblazer’s comeback adds a compelling new dimension to an already wide-open women’s draw.
Return to the Court
Williams, 44, has been granted the eighth and final singles wildcard by Wimbledon organizers. Her first competitive singles match since the 2022 U.S. Open will guarantee soaring TV ratings and drive social media into a frenzy.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka will hope to climb from the deep, dark hole she fell into after collapsing to defeat in the French Open quarter-finals and win her first Wimbledon title. Poland’s Iga Swiatek will try to become the first player since Williams in 2016 to win back-to-back Wimbledon titles.
Fresh from becoming the youngest French Open champion for 34 years, Russian 19-year-old Mirra Andreeva will bring her audacious game to the pristine Wimbledon lawns. Then there is American Coco Gauff’s latest attempt to finally crack the grasscourt puzzle, 2022 champion Elena Rybakina’s understated and often unplayable power game and the possibility that a resurgent Emma Raducanu can ride a wave of home support to a first British women’s title since 1977.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
