Wimbledon share official response regarding Serena Williams receiving a wildcard
Serena Williams’ return to tennis has led to plenty of speculation about the 23-time Grand Slam champion returning to Wimbledon this year.
Williams returned to action at Queen’s to play doubles alongside Victoria Mboko, which reached an unfortunate ending due to an injury the Canadian suffered during her singles match with Karolina Pliskova.
The American is next set to play the doubles at the Berlin Open, alongside Karolina Muchova, with many expecting Williams to receive a Wimbledon wildcard this year.
Wimbledon might have already leaked their Williams decision, but now they have released a more official response about whether the American icon will receive a wildcard.
More Serena Williams news
Patrick Mouratoglou tells Serena Williams what she needs to improve after her first match
“I can’t answer that question, but I guess what I can say is we can all see how much excitement Serena being back on a tennis court and particularly on a grass court has created, and so one can only imagine what that would be like at the championships,” said All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) chief Sally Bolton.
She continued: “The wildcard committee will formally make their decisions next week and we’ll be communicating those, but she has certainly created a fantastic buzz and that’s exciting for the sport.”
One thing we know for sure, however, is that Williams will not be playing doubles with Mboko at Wimbledon this year.
The 19-year-old’s injury is severe enough to cause her to miss the Grand Slam and she has already withdrawn from the iconic grass court event.
Mboko has already dropped off the entry list for Wimbledon and she has been replaced by World No. 112, Darja Vidmanova.
Whether this means Williams will continue to work alongside Muchova, or find a new partner, is anyone’s guess at this point.
She could reignite her doubles partnership with sister Venus Williams, who she has not played with since her final appearance at the US Open.
The sister pairing played one last time at the 2022 event as they bowed out in their first round match against Linda Noskova and Lucie Hradecka.
Venus has returned sporadically throughout the year to play doubles at events such as the Madrid Open and the Australian Open, alongside the likes of Katie Boulter, Leylah Fernandez, Peyton Stearns, and Ekaterina Alexandrova.
She is set to gain a new doubles partner at Bad Homburg, the German grass court event ahead of Wimbledon, as she plays with Alexandra Eala for the first time in her career.
Much like Serena, Venus will need a wildcard to play Wimbledon, which is set to be decided by mid-June at the earliest.
