Serena Williams gets Centre Court for Wimbledon return in 1st round match vs Maya Joint

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Britain Wimbledon Tennis

LONDON (AP) — Where else would she play?

Wimbledon has confirmed that Serena Williams' first match at the grass-court Grand Slam since 2022 will take place on Centre Court on Tuesday evening.

The 44-year-old Williams, a seven-time Wimbledon champion making a tennis comeback, will face 20-year-old Maya Joint of Australia.

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The All England Club on Sunday announced the order of play for Day 2.

Defending champion Iga Swiatek opens play on Centre Court on Tuesday (1:30 p.m. local time), in keeping with tradition, against Taylor Townsend. That's to be followed by Taylor Fritz vs. home favorite Jack Draper — in what is one of the most intriguing men's first-round matchups. And then Williams-Joint.

Williams had been away from the sport since her farewell at the 2022 U.S. Open but she accepted a wild-card entry to play both singles and doubles — with her sister Venus, who is 46.

Williams’ most-recent appearance at Wimbledon was in 2022 when she lost in the opening round to Harmony Tan, who was then-ranked 115th. The American great walked away from tennis — she described it as “evolving” away — after losing in the third round to Ajla Tomljanovic at Flushing Meadows.

Michigan-born Joint slipped from No. 53 to No. 87 in the WTA rankings updated on Sunday.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

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