Serena Williams reflects on emotional Wimbledon return: 'It's never too late'

Dubai: A day after stepping back onto Centre Court for the first time in nearly four years, Serena Williams has summed up her Wimbledon return in an emotional social media post, and the message is less about the result than about everything around it.

Sharing a photo from her first-round match, the 23-time Grand Slam champion said it felt good to be back on the grass at Wimbledon and thanked the tournament for the wild card that made her comeback possible. Above all, she said, she was grateful her daughters were there to see that "it's never too late to chase something you love".

A message to her daughters

That line has become the heart of the post. Williams, 44, has spoken about how having her two daughters off school helped inspire her return, and both were in her box on Centre Court. Olympia, eight, sat alongside Adira, who is almost three and was watching her mother play a singles match for the very first time.

For a player who has won almost everything the sport can offer, framing the comeback around what her children took from it, rather than the scoreline, struck a chord with fans.

A knee scare, but the doubles is still on

Williams also used the post to update on her fitness. She revealed she had tweaked her knee late in the first set, an issue that appeared to affect her movement as the match wore on, but insisted she would do everything she could to be ready for the doubles alongside her sister Venus later in the week.

That reunion is one of the most anticipated moments of the tournament. The Williams sisters have won six Wimbledon women's doubles titles together, and their partnership remains one of the most successful the game has seen.

Gracious in defeat

Williams rounded off the message by congratulating her opponent on a great match and thanking the crowd for the reception, adding that the feeling of being out there would never get old.

The match she was reflecting on was a three-set battle against Maya Joint, a 20-year-old Australian ranked 87th in the world, who won 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 on Centre Court. It was Williams' first singles outing since the 2022 US Open, and although she lost, she saved a match point and forced a decider to a thunderous ovation, her serve still cracking past 120 mph. In a statement released by Wimbledon, she said she never expected to be there at all.

For now, attention shifts to the doubles with Venus, fitness permitting, and to the question hovering over the whole comeback. With the US Open beginning at the end of August, and New York the site of her last singles match before this return, Williams has left the door open to more.