Serena Williams crashes out of Wimbledon at the first hurdle, snubs post-match press

Nearly four years after she played her last Grand Slam match at the 2022 US Open, the tennis great made her singles return on Centre Court at the All England Club after she was handed a wildcard by tournament organisers.

Her comeback had dominated headlines in the lead-up to the grass-court major and Wimbledon's showpiece court was abuzz when she stepped foot on the hallowed turf alongside first-round opponent Maya Joint for the late match on Tuesday evening.

The 44-year-old â- who was looking to become the oldest woman to win a singles match at Wimbledon since Martina Navratilova in 2004 â- produced a superb comeback as she saved a match point in the second-set tie-breaker, but eventually went down 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3 in a match that lasted nearly two and a half hours.

Williams received a standing ovation when she left Centre Court and many expected her to do the traditional post-match press conference, but she didn't face the press after the match.

Instead, organisers issued a statement on her behalf and it read: "It was really great to be back at Wimbledon. I never expected to be here. The atmosphere was amazing. Walking out was amazing. I definitely relished it and missed it and enjoyed the moment more than anything."

Williams' 2026 Wimbledon campaign is not over yet as she will feature in the women's doubles alongside sister Venus Williams and the wildcard pair will face Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra in the first round on Thursday.

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