Serena Williams: Wimbledon to host American’s surprise singles comeback

Williams won her first Wimbledon singles title in 2002 – beating sister Venus in the final – and repeated the feat a year later.

She won again in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016 – with her seventh triumph meaning she equalled Steffi Graf’s Open era record of 22 major singles titles.

After taking maternity leave in 2017, she reached the final on her next two Wimbledon appearances, but lost in straight sets to Angelique Kerber and Halep.

Her 2021 campaign ended after just six games as she retired injured against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, and there were doubts she would return.

Given a wildcard in 2022, she was two points from victory against Harmony Tan before being edged out in a final-set tie-break.

Asked afterwards if that would be her final Wimbledon appearance, Williams said: “That’s a question I can’t answer. Who knows? Who knows where I’ll pop up?”

Williams has won 14 titles at Wimbledon, with six women’s doubles and one mixed doubles among her tally.

She also won Olympic singles and doubles gold on the same courts at the 2012 London Olympics.

Williams has won 107 of her 123 singles matches on grass courts, and it is the surface she has the best record on with an 87% win-rate.