Maya Joint defeats Serena Williams 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 in Wimbledon first round

Maya Joint defeated Serena Williams 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 in the first round of Wimbledon on 1 July 2026. The match lasted two hours and 22 minutes. Williams, 44, received a wildcard entry and played her first singles match since 2022.

Joint, 20, was appearing in just her second main-draw match at the tournament and her first on Centre Court. Joint said she stayed up until 2 a.m. the night before and did not remember the warm-up. "I didn't get much sleep last night.

I was up until 2am just thinking about it," she said. She added that Williams "has such an aura" and that the American "definitely lifted her level" during key moments. Williams was broken twice in the second set and faced a match point in the tiebreak before forcing a decider.

Joint served out the match after both players showed nerves in the final set. Serena Williams and Venus Williams received a wildcard into the women's doubles draw. The sisters won the title six times between 2000 and 2016.