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Serena Williams’ Wimbledon singles return ended in first round by Maya Joint

The Guardian Sport Tuesday 30 June 2026, 21:32 UTC By Tumaini Carayol at Wimbledon 1 min read
Key Points

Williams beaten 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3 on Centre CourtJoint fought off second-set rally to close out matchSerena Williams walked up to the baseline down match point fully conscious of the fact that losing another point would be no tragedy. Four years since her last singles appearance as a professional tennis player, she had been competitive against a talented young player and she had fought hard for every point. However, Williams has always been so demanding of herself and old habits die hard.

  • Williams beaten 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3 on Centre Court

  • Joint fought off second-set rally to close out match

Serena Williams walked up to the baseline down match point fully conscious of the fact that losing another point would be no tragedy. Four years since her last singles appearance as a professional tennis player, she had been competitive against a talented young player and she had fought hard for every point.

However, Williams has always been so demanding of herself and old habits die hard. Serving down 5-6 in her second set tie‑break after losing the first set against Maya Joint, Williams unleashed the greatest weapon the sport has seen: after an excellent first serve allowed her to dispatch an easy forehand winner to save match point, she eviscerated a 122 miles per hour service winner straight down the middle and rode her momentum into a final set.

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Serena Williams (PERSON) Wimbledon (PERSON) Maya Joint Williams (PERSON) Centre CourtJoint (ORG) matchSerena Williams (PERSON) Williams (PERSON) Maya Joint (ORG)
Originally published by The Guardian Sport Read original →

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