Coco Gauff speaks out on Serena Williams as tennis icon avoids $50,000 fine at Wimbledon

Coco Gauff has spoken out over Serena Williams after the 23-time Grand Slam winner lost to Australia's Maya Joint in her first professional singles appearance in four years at Wimbledon.

Williams, now 44, came out of retirement last month to play in the doubles event at Queen's.

She had been expected to only play doubles at Wimbledon alongside her sister Venus, but unexpectedly accepted a wildcard to play in the singles tournament.

Williams was drawn in round one against world number 87 Joint, who had lost 12 of her most recent 13 matches before arriving at SW19.

In a match that lasted two hours and 22 minutes, the 20-year-old Joint secured a composed 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 over the seven-time Wimbledon winner.

Williams decided not to undertake media duties after the match, instead releasing a short statement through the tournament organisers.

Her agent subsequently confirmed that Williams 'tweaked her knee at the end of the first set' and was therefore excused from doing media obligations, also avoiding a maximum fine of $50,000 in the process.

READ MORE: Serena Williams escapes $50k fine as controversial Wimbledon decision explained

The 44-year-old would later post a lengthy statement to Instagram, writing that she was 'incredibly thankful' for being given a wildcard to compete at Wimbledon for the first time since 2022.

Maya Joint beat Serena Williams in three sets on Centre Court (Image: Getty)

"I tweaked my knee late in the first set, but I'll be doing everything I can to be ready for doubles with Venus," she added.

"Congratulations to Maya Joint on a great match, and thank you to everyone who showed up and showed me so much love. This feeling will never get old."

Coco Gauff on Serena Williams

Her compatriot Gauff, a two-time Grand Slam champion, needed a tiebreak to defeat Argentina's Solana Sierra in the second round on Wednesday.

But the 22-year-old, who famously defeated Venus Williams in her very first match at Wimbledon in 2019, won the tiebreak 10-7 to progress to round three.

Speaking in her media conference after that match, Gauff reserved huge praise for Serena Williams and said that her opponent Joint played at a 'top 10, top five' level in their match.

"I thought she was playing really great tennis," Gauff stated.

"I mean, Maya played like top 10, top 5 tennis. Obviously she's a great player. I've never played her before, but I think she was top 20 before, or close to that. She's a great competitor and seems like a chill girl. I do think if anyone was ready for the moment, it would be her.

"But I think Serena's level was insane. For me, it proves even more how she's the GOAT. Despite age and all that, I don't know how she could play at that level [after] not playing for four years. I was already nervous not playing like two weeks before this tournament. I couldn't imagine four years.

"She's just the GOAT. I just love her. I love her fight. The serve is unbelievable. It's just crazy. I think it's insane how she can just play.

"You just look at her and you think, 'This is like 10 years ago'. I think it's really insane. It was cool for the sport. Obviously, congrats to Maya for stepping up and being ready."

Gauff is next in action against American qualifier Claire Liu on Friday, while Williams prepares for doubles action - injury permitting.