Serena Williams Skipped Her Presser After Wimbledon Loss and the Internet Had Thoughts

Serena Williams returned to Wimbledon on Tuesday for her first singles match since 2022. She lost to Australia’s Maya Joint 6-3, 7-6, 6-3. And then she didn’t show up for the post-match press conference.

Instead, the tournament circulated a quote attributed to Williams. She said it was great to be back and that she soaked in the atmosphere. She missed it. She enjoyed the moment more than anything. All true, probably. But the press room stayed empty.

This isn’t new for Williams. She has a long history of skipping or cutting short press conferences after tough losses. In 2018, after a first-round exit at the Miami Open, she was fined $1,000 for not showing up. At the 2021 Australian Open, she walked out of a presser early after losing to Naomi Osaka in the semifinals. A year later, after Emma Raducanu beat her in straight sets at the Cincinnati Masters, she skipped both the on-court interview and the press conference.

So Tuesday’s no-show wasn’t a shock. But it still got people talking. Ben Rothenberg noted on social media that Williams sent a statement instead of facing questions. The internet did its thing.

What’s next for Serena

Williams is 44 now. She has seven Wimbledon singles titles to her name, won across two different decades. But she hasn’t played a Grand Slam singles match since the 2022 US Open, where she announced she was stepping away from professional tennis. She called it an “evolution,” not a retirement, and has spent the last four years focused on family and business.

But this summer she’s back on tour. She played doubles at Queen’s Club with Canadian Victoria Mboko. At Wimbledon, she’s scheduled to team up with her sister Venus in the doubles draw, which runs from July 2 to 12. That’s where the focus will shift now.

Does she have another singles run in her? Hard to say. One first-round loss doesn’t answer that question. But it does raise it.