Serena Williams will make her competitive return to Wimbledon later this month, pairing with her sister Venus in the women's doubles after the All England Club granted them a wildcard on Tuesday. The announcement caps one of the most closely watched decisions in recent wildcard history, given Serena's emergence from a four-year retirement just days earlier.
The 44-year-old seven-time singles champion has declined a singles wildcard and remains noncommittal about returning to individual competition. Her sister Venus, a five-time singles champion who turns 46 Wednesday, likewise did not seek or receive a singles wildcard. Venus has competed on the professional tour continuously since 1994, taking breaks only for health reasons.
The All England Club's wildcard decisions extended well beyond the Williams sisters. French Open finalist Maja Chwalinska, who qualified for the clay court major's singles final, earned a doubles wildcard despite missing the rankings cutoff that closed before the French Open. Her No. 21 ranking secured her the unusual dual status of being both a wildcard and seeded player at a grand slam tournament. Stan Wawrinka, retiring this year, and Grigor Dimitrov also received men's singles wildcards.
British veteran Dan Evans, set to retire after Wimbledon, failed to make the initial singles list but secured a doubles wildcard with compatriot Henry Searle.
Serena is currently working through her comeback schedule on the grass court circuit. She made her return to competition last week at Queen's Club, winning her opening match with Victoria Mboko against Erin Routliffe and Nichole Melichar Martinez. That partnership will not continue, however, as Mboko withdrew from the remainder of the grass season after suffering a medial collateral ligament tear.
Today she steps up competition in Berlin, joining world No. 10 Karolina Muchova for a WTA tournament first-round match against Routliffe and Giuliana Olmos.
The Williams sisters' doubles partnership ranks among tennis' most storied. Together they have claimed 14 grand slam doubles titles, the joint-second highest total in the open era, along with six Wimbledon women's doubles crowns, the most in open era history. They also hold three Olympic gold medals in women's doubles and reached No. 1 in the WTA rankings as a team.
Author James Rodriguez: "Serena's willingness to go doubles-first speaks volumes about where she stands physically and mentally after four years away, and the Williams sisters' Wimbledon return could be the feel-good story of the tournament if their aging bodies cooperate."
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