Serena Williams will play singles at Wimbledon after accepting a wild-card invitation, the All England Club announced Sunday.
The move comes after the 44-year-old Williams recently returned to competition in doubles after nearly four years away from professional tennis.
This is not a drill.@serenawilliams will compete in the 2026 ladies' singles at #Wimbledon as a wild card. pic.twitter.com/1vHnDEQ4xm
And it means that Williams will play both singles and doubles at Wimbledon after already accepting a wild card for the doubles competition with older sister Venus Williams.
Wimbledon held open the eighth and final women's singles wild-card spot until Williams made up her mind. As recently as earlier this week after losing a doubles match in Berlin, she appeared to be waffling over the decision.
"Oh my gosh, there are some left?" she replied when she was told there was still a wild-card spot open.
Wild cards are special invitations handed out by tournament organizers, which allow former champions and others access to the main draw without the necessary entry qualifications. But then Williams mused about her readiness for it.
Oldest women to win Major main draw match
If Serena Williams, 44, can win a match at this year's Wimbledon, she would become the fourth-oldest woman in the Open Era to win a singles match at a Major.
"Do you think I'm ready for singles?" she asked a reporter and then turned to doubles partner Karolina Muchova to ask what she thought.
"I think I would be interested in it," the Czech player responded.
"That's the question of the hour, right?" Williams said. "I don't know. I don't know. I wonder why there's -- I don't know."
"Just finished a mean game of duck duck goose," Williams said on X after the wild card announcement.
Serena's last singles match was a loss to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the 2022 US Open. At the time, she said she didn't want to use the word "retiring" and instead declared that she was "evolving" away from tennis.
Serena has won 23 Grand Slam titles in singles, including seven at Wimbledon, most recently in 2016. She also has won 14 Grand Slams in doubles, all with Venus and six of them at Wimbledon. Serena also swept the singles and doubles (with Venus) titles at the 2012 London Olympics, when the tennis competition was held on the hallowed grass of the All England Club.