LONDON, June 29 (Reuters) - Former world number one Serena Williams will be the centre of attention on Tuesday when she sets foot on the grass at the All England Club for the first time in four years to face Maya Joint in the first round at Wimbledon.
TOP WOMEN'S MATCH: SERENA WILLIAMS V MAYA JOINT
Williams, who has won 23 Grand Slams, has set herself a relatively low bar at this year's Wimbledon in what will be her first singles appearance at a Grand Slam since the 2022 U.S. Open.
The 44-year-old American, who will also compete in the doubles alongside her sister Venus, has won seven Wimbledon singles titles but said before the tournament that she was just focused on enjoying herself.
"In general, my expectations are definitely different for the first time in my career," she told reporters on Sunday.
"I feel like my feelings are just — not that I never enjoyed it before, or else I wouldn't be here today — but I feel like I'm really going to enjoy being out there."
Despite her long absence from the sport, Williams will have cause for belief against 20-year-old Australian Joint, who has had a dismal year on the WTA Tour, losing 15 of the 18 singles matches she has played in 2026.
TOP MEN'S MATCH: STAN WAWRINKA V MATTEO BERRETTINI
The 41-year-old Stan Wawrinka is set for a 19th and likely final appearance at the All England Club, with the 2026 season expected to be his last on tour.
A three-time Grand Slam champion, Wawrinka has long been a fan favourite but has never gone beyond the quarter-finals at Wimbledon. Standing across the net is Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, who reached the final in 2021 and remains one of the most dangerous grasscourt players when fit.
However, injuries have stalled Berrettini’s progress in recent years, with the latest a hip issue that forced him to retire from his French Open quarter-final.
ZVEREV HOPING FOR ANOTHER BUS TO COME ALONG
After Alexander Zverev's long-overdue victory at the French Open, the German will hope that Grand Slam titles are like London buses - you wait for one and then two come along at once.
However, grass is far from his best surface and he has never won a title on it, while also never getting past the fourth round at Wimbledon and suffering a first-round exit in last year's tournament.
"I hope the saying (about buses) will be true for me. But again, Wimbledon has always been the Grand Slam that I struggled the most at," he told reporters ahead of his match against Belgian Alexander Blockx.
"Personally I do feel different this year. I do feel like I have a good preparation. I feel like I play good tennis at the moment."
WIMBLEDON ORDER OF PLAY ON TUESDAY (prefix number denotes seeding)
CENTRE COURT (Play begins at 1230 GMT)
Taylor Townsend (U.S.) v 3-Iga Swiatek
Alexander Blockx v 2-Alexander Zverev
Serena Williams (U.S.) v Maya Joint (Australia)
COURT NUMBER ONE (Play begins at 1200 GMT)
6-Taylor Fritz (Belgium) v Dusan Lajovic (Germany)
Lois Boisson (France) v 2-Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan)
Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) v Matteo Berrettini (Italy)
COURT NUMBER TWO (Play begins at 1000 GMT)
6-Amanda Anisimova (U.S.) v Lina Gjorcheska (North Macedonia)
Otto Virtanen (Finland) v 4-Ben Shelton (U.S.)
8-Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) v Daria Snigur (Ukraine)
Mariano Navone (Argentina) v 9-Flavio Cobolli (Italy)
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Alison Williams)
