Serena Williams, 44 and Done With Retirement, Opens Up About the Voice That Pulled Her Back to Wimbledon

Serena Williams is back at Wimbledon. Not as a nostalgic walk-on or a ceremonial doubles partner. She’s actually playing singles. At 44 years old. More than two years after she walked away from tennis for good. Or so she thought.

There was this voice, she said. A small one that never really shut up, even after she played her last match in 2022 and told everyone she was done. She could ignore it for a while. But then Wimbledon called. The All-England Club sent an invitation, and that voice got loud again.

So she decided to listen

Williams has 23 Grand Slam titles, seven of them won on Centre Court. She knows that grass better than almost anyone alive. But this isn’t the same Serena who used to flatten opponents on her way to the trophy. She’s 44. She hasn’t played a competitive singles match on grass in four years. Her last appearance at Wimbledon ended in the first round.

Still, she said in her press conference, “People live to be an athlete. I have this great opportunity to showcase what I do, what I do best, I suppose. Yeah, I think ultimately I was like that is pretty cool, so I should do it.”

That’s the thing about her. She doesn’t pretend this is some grand redemption arc or a shot at a 24th major. She’s not saying she can win the whole thing. She’s just saying this feels right.

Tuesday night in London

Her first opponent is Maya Joint of Australia. Williams has a career record of 19-2 in first-round matches at Wimbledon. But those two losses came in her last two appearances at the tournament. So there’s a pattern there, and not a great one.

But here’s what makes this interesting: she never expected to be in this position. She thought that part of her life was over. She had moved on. She had a family, a business, a whole other identity outside of tennis. But the sport doesn’t really leave you, does it? Especially when you’re the best to ever do it.

Williams practiced on the grass this week and said she felt something click. Not the old killer instinct, necessarily. More like curiosity. She wanted to see if she still could.

“I think ultimately I was like, that is pretty cool, so I should do it,” she said. That’s basically her thesis for this whole run. No grand statements. No predictions. Just a 44-year-old legend who decided to show up and see what happens.

Her first-round match against Joint is scheduled for Tuesday night. If she wins, she’ll face a tougher test in the second round. But right now, none of that seems to matter. She’s back on the grass at Wimbledon. The voice finally got what it wanted.