Maya Joint Stops Serena Williams in Three-Set Wimbledon Singles Return

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Australia's Maya Joint ended Serena Williams' hopes of a storybook Wimbledon comeback on Tuesday, beating the American 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 in her first singles match at the All England Club in four years.

Williams had drawn wide attention with her return to competitive tennis, but she could not add another memorable chapter to her career on the grass courts she once ruled.

At 44, Williams became the second-oldest woman to play Wimbledon singles in the Open era, behind only Martina Navratilova, who reached the second round at 47 in 2004. A seven-time Wimbledon champion, she fought hard throughout the contest, though after such a long absence it was always going to be difficult to overcome a sharp opponent on Centre Court.

"It was really great to be back at Wimbledon. I never expected to be here," Williams said in a brief statement after she chose not to attend her scheduled media session. "The atmosphere was amazing. Walking out was amazing. I definitely relished it and missed it and enjoyed the moment more than anything."

She saved two match points and pushed a gripping battle lasting two hours and 22 minutes into a third set, where she moved ahead by a break before Joint recovered to close out the win.

Williams' time at Wimbledon is not finished, as she is also competing in doubles alongside her sister Venus. A strong run in that draw would still show that her return carried real substance beyond a brief appearance.

Driven partly by a wish to perform in front of her young children, Williams ended her retirement earlier in June. She took part in doubles at Queen's Club and Berlin before receiving a wild card into the Wimbledon singles draw.

Her previous Grand Slam singles match was a third-round loss to Ajla Tomljanovic at the US Open, a defeat that appeared to mark the end of her playing days when she said she was "evolving away" from tennis.

Yet after 1,462 days away from Wimbledon since a first-round loss to Harmony Tan in 2022, Williams returned to the tournament where she reached 11 finals during her peak years.

A full Centre Court crowd welcomed her warmly, though she may have missed some of the noise because she walked onto court wearing headphones. Under the closed roof, fans lit up the arena with camera phones as they photographed one of tennis' most recognisable figures.

Williams' daughters Olympia and Adira, her husband Alexis Ohanian and Venus watched from the players' box. Applause built as she prepared to return Joint's opening serve in the first game, and grew louder when she won that point.

Joint held serve through the noise, but Williams answered with a finely judged lob in the following game that drew audible gasps.

When Joint, 20, was born in April 2006, Williams had already claimed seven Grand Slam singles titles. Ranked 87th in the world, Joint had won only one of her previous 14 matches.

Still, she handled the stage calmly, breaking Williams in the eighth game and serving out the opening set to disappointed murmurs from the stands.

After Joint broke again to open the second set, Williams looked in danger of slipping away quietly. Instead she pumped her fist after a sharp passing shot helped her break Joint for the first time in the sixth game.

Joint broke back for 4-3, yet Williams struck again to level the set. A tense tie-break turned her way when she erased a match point with a composed winner, then profited from a Joint error to force a decider.

Williams broke first in the third set, but Joint replied with two breaks to lead 4-2. Fighting to the end, Williams cried out in frustration when Joint earned another match point, and when a forehand sailed long the pursuit of another Wimbledon title was over for now.

Williams, whose last Grand Slam singles title came at the 2017 Australian Open, left the court quickly, waving to the crowd before exiting almost as abruptly as she had arrived.