All eyes on Serena Williams as Wimbledon set to begin

A few of the men’s singles first-round matches look like this. Jack Draper vs Taylor Fritz, Stan Wawrinka vs Matteo Berrettini, Hubert Hurkacz vs Casper Ruud, Marin Cilic vs Daniil Medvedev and Joao Fonseca vs Roberto Bautista Agut. Such mouthwatering clashes and yet, the spotlight at this year’s Wimbledon which begins on Monday is all on a 44-year-old mother-of-two, who likely believes that despite 23 Grand Slam singles titles and an almost four-year-hiatus, she can still give the present generation a run for their money.

Serena Williams' presence has been emanating throughout SW19 – the famous post code of Wimbledon – as she prepares to play her first singles match at the event in four years Tuesday when she faces No 53 Maya Joint in the first round.

Mirra Andreeva, who just won the French Open, was basically crossing her fingers when the Wimbledon draw was announced. "I was watching like this because I don't think anyone in the draw would have wanted to play against Serena," the smiling Russian teenager said Saturday. "I'm going to speak for myself. I wouldn't want to play against Serena. I would be just very nervous."

Such then is the aura of the younger Williams sister even after being away from the game for so long, with critics divided into two camps, one believing her return under the circumstances is a bit disrespectful to the standard of women’s tennis and the other of the opinion that the 7-time Wimbledon single champion wouldn’t have made her decision if she didn’t believe she belonged there.

Serena had been away from the sport since her farewell at the 2022 US Open but she accepted a wild-card entry to play women's doubles with her sister Venus, who is 46. And then she accepted another to play singles.

The Williams sisters will play their first-round doubles match against Colombia's Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra of Argentina. Serena and Venus have won 14 Grand Slam titles together in doubles, including six at Wimbledon.

Coco Gauff, the No. 7 seed at Wimbledon, said Serena and Venus were the "biggest" inspiration for her.

"I played the sport because of them, believed that I could do things because of them. I look up to them a lot," she said.

World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka added: "It's amazing what she's doing. Also it's Serena Williams, everyone was talking about that. She's bringing more eyes on tennis. It's a good thing for tennis. I'm really excited to see her play."

Men’s 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic called Serena’s tennis comeback "inspirational" and "epic."

"That's what I told her," Djokovic said Saturday.

"I see her in the gym more than I have, I think, seen her when she was at her prime," the 39-year-old said of Serena. "It tells me that she really wants this to work out the best way possible."

Djokovic added: "I always admired her career, her journey, her story. Of course, Venus', as well."

While it is quite possible Serena might find the going tough against her Australian opponent who is less than half her age, her mere presence on the court will definitely grab most of the eyeballs and headlines.