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Thursday, February 12, 2026

Serena’s Wimbledon Return Resumes Her Bid for a 24th Slam

  • She hasn’t played in a competitive match since being injured at Wimbledon last year.
  • The 40-year-old will continue her quest to match Margaret Court’s Grand Slam record.
Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

The GOAT is returning to Wimbledon, site of some of her greatest triumphs — and where her tennis career was put on pause.

On Tuesday, Serena Williams received a wild-card spot from the All England Club, setting up her first competitive singles match since being forced to retire from the first round of last year’s Wimbledon with a leg injury.

The 40-year-old Williams — who had earlier hinted that she’ll continue her bid to equal Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam titles and inch closer toward the $100 million mark for career earnings — will now compete for a top prize of $2.5 million from a record $50.4 million purse.

  • Williams’ $94.5M in career earnings tops the all–time WTA money list.
  • Her 23 GS titles include seven at Wimbledon, in addition to titles at the Australian Open (7), U.S. Open (6), and French Open (3).
  • But due to her layoff, the former World No. 1 has dropped to No. 1,208.

To prepare for Wimbledon (June 27-July 10), Williams will team up with World No. 4 Ons Jabeur in doubles for the LTA’s Rothesay International Eastbourne from June 18-25.

Although she’s coming off a year-long layoff, hasn’t reached the Wimbledon singles final since 2019, and hasn’t won the title since ’16, bookmakers are relatively bullish on her prospects.

Williams still has the sixth-best odds to take this year’s edition (+1800).

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Tennis legend Serena Williams, seen here waving to the crowd after losing the final match of her career to Ajla Tomljanovic 2022 U.S. Open tennis, has suffered two pulmonary embolisms — the first in 2011 and the second in 2017 after the birth of her first child. She was able to return to competition both times but has also said that she needs to be vigilant for the rest of her life when it comes to early detection of blood clots.

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