Serena Williams' Wimbledon singles campaign ends in shock first round loss

Serena Williams made her return to Grand Slam tennis at Wimbledon; however, it has not gone to plan, as she suffered an elimination from the competition with a first-round loss to Maya Joint.

This victory will live long in the memory for the 20-year-old Australian as she won the match in three sets, 6-3, 6-7 and 6-3, to eliminate the 23-time grand slam champion.

Williams’ last appearance at Wimbledon was in 2022, when she was knocked out in the first round by Harmony Tan in three sets.

The American would then take a four-year hiatus from tennis, with many expecting her loss to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the US Open in 2022 to be her final ever single tennis match.

This was not the case, as she announced on June 1 that she would be returning to tennis, and since then she has only competed in doubles, until this clash with Joint.

Williams was awarded a wildcard to compete with her sister, Venus, in doubles, while also receiving a wildcard to make a spectacular return to singles.

Maya Joint of Australia looks on against Serena Williams of United States during their Ladies' Singles first round match on day two of The Championships Wimbledon 2026 (Getty Images)

However, it was not the dream return for Williams as Joint progressed past the first round in Wimbledon for the first time in her career, having been eliminated at this stage in last year’s competition.

While Joint will be pleased to have beaten one of tennis’ greatest ever players, mentally she will be more pleased to have progressed to the second round of Wimbledon and, in the process, ended her 11-match losing streak at tour-level, with her last win coming in January.

Now, the 20-year-old will face Alexandra Eala in the second round of Wimbledon after the star from the Philippines beat Mexican Renata Zarazua in her opening fixture of the competition.

Joint has only ever made it to the second round of a Grand Slam on two previous occasions, both coming in the US Open.

Williams will now turn her attention to the doubles, where she will face Solana Sierra and Camila Osorio in the first round, paired with her sister Venus.

Meanwhile, Joint will also have her opening round doubles match on July 2, when she and Ekaterina Alexandrova will face Veronika Erjavec and Petra Marcinko.