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Day 2 at Wimbledon has concluded with Serena Williams' comeback ending in the first round.
Williams, a seven-time champion, dropped a three-set match to Australia’s Maya Joint, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3. Williams, 44, was playing in her first professional singles match in four years. Her last appearance at Wimbledon was in 2022 when she lost in the opening round.
American Ben Shelton (4) was the first big name to lose at Wimbledon, beaten in a fifth-set super tiebreak by Otto Virtanen.
Taylor Fritz (6), Amanda Anisimova (6) and Madison Keys (26) won, and defending champion Iga Świątek (3) and Elena Rybakina (2) both advanced in three sets.
Day 2 at Wimbledon will be a memorable one in this tournament. It featured a shocking upset when Ben Shelton (4) lost in five sets.
Elena Rybakina (2) and Iga Świątek (3) needed to win in three sets to advance.
No match was bigger than Serena Williams, the 23-time singles Slam champion, making her return to Wimbledon. She fought valiantly in a three-set defeat to Maya Joint, reminding the sports world why she is one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
With Day 2 in the books, it’s on to Day 3 at Wimbledon. Jannik Sinner (1) and Novak Djokovic (7) headline the action on the men’s side, while world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is the top seed playing on the women’s side.
We at The Athletic will be back again, providing all the live coverage, play-by-play commentary, news and analysis from first ball to match point. Until then, tennis fans!
The biggest shocker of the day in the Wimbledon men’s singles draw was Ben Shelton. The fourth seed lost to Otto Virtanen in five sets, ending his hopes of his first Slam title.
The bottom half of the draw, already wide open without Carlos Alcaraz, just got even wider.
Below are the seeds who advanced today:
It was a memorable day in the women’s singles draw, headlined by Serena Williams returning to Wimbledon.
Below are the seeds that advanced, winning their first-round matches. Elina Svitolina (8) was the highest seed to lose, falling in straight sets to Daria Snigur.
Stan Wawrinka said goodbye to Wimbledon today. He went down swinging against past Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini, who won 6-7(7), 7-6(16), 7-6(7), 7-6(5).
How different would today’s match have been if Wawrinka won that marathon second-set tiebreak?
Regardless, Wawrinka had a nice moment to thank the fans, who cheered on the Swiss player. Wimbledon was the only Slam that Wawrinka didn’t win. His best result was a quarterfinal appearance in 2014 and 2015.
Wawrinka will always be a fan favourite, even if he didn't lift the champion’s trophy.
Yes, Maya Joint’s Wimbledon journey is continuing in the women’s singles draw. I hope she can get a better night’s sleep tonight than she did yesterday. Might be hard after that rousing three-set victory over Serena Williams.
It’s a very tough second-round opponent for Joint. She plays 29th seed Alexandra Eala, who will have a lot of supporters following her as she looks to reach her first third round at a Slam.
Eala won 6-1, 6-2 today over Renata Zarazúa. She is a fantastic grass court player and will be the favourite against Joint, who just snapped an 11-match losing streak.
Serena Williams isn’t done with Wimbledon yet. The next time she hits the grass courts she will play doubles alongside her sister Venus.
The Williams sisters have won six doubles titles together. It’s going to be a scene at the All England Club when that duo plays.
That was some return to Wimbledon for Serena Williams. She was oh so close to getting a victory in the singles competition but it wasn’t to be.
It’s been a long time since Williams won a singles match at Wimbledon. You have to go back to the 2019 semifinals, where Williams beat Barbora Strýcová in straight sets 6-1, 6-2.
Even if it’s been years, no one creates an emotional stir like Williams when she graces a Slam with her presence. And she captivated not just tennis fans but sports enthusiasts around the world with her performance tonight.
Maya Joint praised Serena Williams in her post-match interview, someone she’s idolized for a long time.
She admitted that Williams made things tough for her but was proud of her ability to battle and grind out the victory, saying:
💬 “She played some really good tennis there. I’ve been dreaming about this moment since I’ve been a little kid so this is pretty crazy.”
I thought Serena Williams showed flashes of brilliance today in her return to singles action at Wimbledon.
She had flashes of that dominant serve, her trademark shot. She fired seven aces and had a few unreturnable serves toward the end of the second set in the tiebreak.
You can see Serena can still hit with that bonafide power. It’s just she met an opponent in Maya Joint who could absorb it today.
What a day of Wimbledon action!
If you want to hear all the analysis on Serena Williams’ return to Centre Court, make sure to check out “The Tennis Podcast” Day 2 live stream, featuring David Law, Catherine Whittaker and Matt Roberts.
Here are some of the match stats for Serena Williams and Maya Joint:
Aces:
Double faults:
First serve %:
First serve points won:
Second serve points won:
Winners:
Unforced errors:
Total points:
Andy Roddick, speaking on the ESPN panel, weighs in on what he saw from Serena Williams today. He admitted that Williams may have lost her legs as the third set progressed.
Even Caroline Wozniacki, sitting next to Roddick, said that Williams “ran out of gas.”
But they both agreed that Williams impressed on this stage.
💬 “If this is a stress test for whether Serena can play at this level, she can,” Roddick said.
Maya Joint is fully relatable in her on-court interview after the match.
💬 “I didn’t get much sleep last night, I was up until 2 a.m. just thinking about it,” she said. “Walking out, I forgot the warm-up. I don’t know what happened; my legs weren’t moving. I really don’t know how I got a good start in the match. She has such an aura, she’s such a legend.”
Wow. I was not expecting that kind of tension. What an incredible occasion and effort from both players.
Loud cheers for Serena Williams as she exits Centre Court. A standing ovation from the crowd and her family and team members in her box.
Williams waves with a smile. Incredible grit and effort.
A nice handshake from Serena Williams to Maya Joint.
Samantha Stosur, the 2011 U.S. Open champion working with Joint, is quite happy.
An impressive win for Joint.
Joint 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3 Williams
Maya Joint holds on to beat Serena Williams in three sets. Joint shows tremendous resolve, rallying from a break down in the third and not converting on match point in the second set to win.
As for Williams, an incredible effort. Given that she hadn’t played a professional singles match in four years, Williams never lost her competitive spirit.
It will be fascinating to see what is next for Williams, with the U.S. Open in New York the last Slam of 2026. As for Maya Joint, she is into the second round of Wimbledon for the first time in her career.
Joint 6-3, 6-7(6), *5-3 Williams
Serena Williams holds serve to stay alive in the match. Now, the pressure shifts to Maya Joint as she serves for a spot in the second round and one of the greatest wins of her career.
Joint 6-3, 6-7(6), 5-2* Williams
Maya Joint holds and consolidates the break. After Serena Williams went up a break in the third set, Joint has won four straight games.
Serena needs to holds to keep this match going.
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