Serena Williams loses Wimbledon first-round thriller, her first singles match since 2022

Wimbledon (CNN) — Serena Williams lost in her return to singles tennis 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3 against Maya Joint of Australia in a thrilling match in front of an at times raucous crowd on Wimbledon’s Centre Court.

In what was her first singles match since losing to Ajla Tomljanović at the 2022 US Open, Williams drew a standing ovation on her entrance to the court before proceeding to show some flashes of the greatest women’s tennis player of all time’s peak – no mean feat after over three-and-a-half years away from the professional game.

The Wimbledon crowd cheered the tennis icon all match, with people of all ages – including some no more than three or four years old – yelling, “Come on, Serena!” “Let’s go, Serena!” and “We love you, Serena!” during the two-hour, 22-minute contest.

Williams dropped the first game to the 20-year-old Australian before bouncing back in the second. The match stayed on serve until the seven-time Wimbledon singles champion was broken in the eighth game before Joint closed out the first set 6-3.

Mirroring the overall early feeling of the match, the 23-time grand slam champion opened the second set on a tear, going up 40-0 before losing five straight points to drop the first game. Joint then took the second before Williams punched back in the third behind a very pro-Serena crowd.

The Australian took the fourth game to go up 3-1 before Williams turned back the clock with some incredible play – including a powerful winner that just hit the line in the sixth game – to even the second set.

With the American on serve, the mood shifted to a possible turnaround, but Joint broke Williams to take a 4-3 lead, largely due to unforced errors from the tennis legend.

But the indefatigable Williams refused to go out without a fight, pushing Joint to deuce in the next game before winning the next two points in vintage Serena style, eliciting a massive roar from the Centre Court crowd as she evened up the second set.

The noise from the crowd at SW19 was even louder when Williams took the next game to go up in the set, but the mood shifted from oohs to awws as the American mishit several balls to again even up the second, including the final point where the ball was launched high into the air – nearly kissing the retractable roof – and into an eager front section.

A series of errors from both players plagued the following game, bringing it to deuce on multiple occasions, before Williams pulled ahead. Joint quickly served out to make it 6-6 and take it to a tiebreak.

The players kept it tight in the tiebreak, interchanging points and at times displaying incredible shotmaking, but the breakthrough ultimately came when Joint hit a shot long to give Williams the second set and bring Centre Court to its feet.

While the noise and pressure might have rocked many a player, the third set opened with an impressively steely Joint – who despite some jittery play – won the first game and displayed plenty of fight as Williams took the second and third to move to 2-1.

Chants of “Let’s go, Serena, let’s go!” pierced through the excited energy of the crowd during the changeover before Joint dampened the party, breaking Williams’ serve to even the third set.

The Australian youngster served out a straightforward game in the fifth and played great tennis to break Williams and take a 4-2 lead.

Joint and Williams then held their serves to make it 5-3 before the Australian served out to take the set and the match over the tennis legend.

Despite the loss, Williams earned a loud round of applause from the Centre Court crowd, old friends who are well aware of all the joy the American has brought this grassy corner of London. And over the period of slightly more than two hours, Williams delivered joy yet again.

It won’t be the last time Williams will be seen at Wimbledon this year as she is set to still play doubles with her sister Venus on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, American No. 4 seed Ben Shelton fell in five sets to Otto Virtanen of Finland 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(8), 6-2, 7-6(9) in what was a big upset on Court 2.

Shelton came into Wimbledon playing pretty well on grass – making the final at Stuttgart and quarterfinals in Halle but falling to fellow American Taylor Fritz on both occasions – so the result will be hugely disappointing for the US star who made the quarters at SW19 in 2025.

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