Serena Williams to face Australian star 24 years her junior on Wimbledon return

26 Jun 2026 • 5:52 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

Serena Williams to face Australian star 24 years her junior on Wimbledon return

  • Seven-time champion Serena Williams, 44, is set to make her return to Wimbledon singles after a four-year absence, drawing Australia's Maya Joint, 20, in the first round, with a potential third-round match against defending champion Iga Swiatek awaiting her.
  • British player Emma Raducanu, who is an injury doubt, has been drawn against Croatia's Antonia Ruzic in the first round, with a challenging potential third-round encounter against top seed Aryna Sabalenka.
  • On the men's side, Jannik Sinner is the top seed following Carlos Alcaraz's absence, while seventh seed Novak Djokovic has a solid initial draw against China’s Yibing Wu but could face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round and is positioned in the same half as Sinner for a potential semi-final.
  • Several British players have learned their first-round opponents, including Cameron Norrie, who will play qualifier Michael Zheng, and various wildcards and qualifiers facing seeded players such as Billy Harris against Karen Khachanov and Mika Stojsavljevic against Belinda Bencic.
  • The draws also outline potential quarter-final matchups, with Felix Auger-Aliassime possibly facing Novak Djokovic, and US stars Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton avoiding the top two seeds in their respective halves of the draw.

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