On June 30, 2026, tennis legends Serena Williams and Stan Wawrinka concluded their Wimbledon appearances with competitive performances but early exits.

Serena Williams, 44, made a much-anticipated return to competitive singles after a four-year absence. Despite the enthusiastic reception from fans at the All England Club, she was defeated in the first round by Australian Maya Joint with scores of 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3. Williams was aiming to become the oldest woman to win a singles match at Wimbledon since Martina Navratilova in 2004 but fell short. Reflecting on her experience, Williams said, "I never expected to be here. The atmosphere was amazing. Walking out was amazing. I definitely relished it and missed it and enjoyed the moment more than anything." She also shared, "I didn't get much sleep last night, I was up until 2 a.m. just thinking about it. Walking out (today), I forgot the warm-up, I don't know what happened. My legs weren't moving. I don't know how I got a pretty good start in the match."

Maya Joint, who was not born when Williams won her first seven Grand Slam singles titles, described the victory as the biggest of her career on Centre Court, stating she blocked out all the noise surrounding Williams' return.

Meanwhile, 41-year-old Stan Wawrinka bid farewell to Wimbledon in his final appearance. He lost a marathon match to Matteo Berrettini with scores of 6-7(7), 7-6(16), 7-6(7), 7-6(5).

Earlier in the day, defending women's champion Iga Swiatek advanced to the second round after a 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 win over American Taylor Townsend. American Amanda Anisimova, runner-up to Swiatek last year, won 6-3, 6-2 against qualifier Lina Gjorcheska in 61 minutes. Former finalists Jasmine Paolini and Karolina Pliskova also progressed, with Paolini overcoming Robin Montgomery 0-6, 6-4, 7-5 and Pliskova defeating Tereza Valentova 6-3, 6-4.

Grigor Dimitrov, returning after a pectoral injury last year, celebrated a win over Dane Sweeny 7-6(4), 6-3, 7-5.

Williams expressed happiness about competing again, saying, "It was really great to be back at Wimbledon," and "I'm happy I could get through a match like that because I got quite tense in the second set and I was able to come back to my game."

Sources