First-round matches at Grand Slam tournaments that feature the 87th best female tennis player in the world as a favorite against an unranked competitor tend to get relegated to outer courts and the unlimited subscription tier where it typically get reduced to postage stamp size on your favorite device’s screen.
But not every first-round match such as the one that Wimbledon staged today involves a seven-time champion attempting a singles comeback at age 44. So it centre court and prime Greenwich time that was the stage for what was unquestionably the premiere event of these Championships so far. And as the anonymous assumed human at THE ASSOCIATED PRESS wrote, the overflow throng actually got their money’s worth:
The roars began even before Serena Williams stepped on Centre Court. Then they grew louder when the 23-time Grand Slam champion arrived to play her first singles match in nearly four years.
And when it was all over and the 44-year-old Williams had performed admirably in a three-set defeat to an opponent less than half her age in the opening round of Wimbledon with her two daughters cheering her on, Williams smiled as she walked off to a loud round of applause.
“It was really great to be back at Wimbledon. I never expected to be here,” Williams, who did not meet with media after the match, said in a statement released by Wimbledon organizers. “The atmosphere was amazing. Walking out was amazing. I definitely relished it and missed it and enjoyed the moment more than anything.”
But while the world’s focus was unquestionably on the second oldest woman to ever play a singles match at Wimbledon (Martina Navratilova gave it a go at age 47 22 years ago), they also discovered a pretty talented Gen Alpha, as the Wimbledon site enthusiastically reported:
Maya Joint played the match of her young life to end the Wimbledon singles comeback of the “legend” Serena Williams in a late-night Centre Court thriller…And the American superstar, now 44, found more Antipodean kryptonite on her return to Grand Slam tennis to lose 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3.
Aussie Joint had never won at Wimbledon before – and had entered The Championships on a run of 11 Tour-level defeats dating back to January…facing the greatest female player of the modern era, the self-styled Ginger Ninja showed bravery and maturity beyond her 20 years on the biggest stage in the game.
Williams…saved a first match-point in the second-set tie-break and then led by a break in the decider. She defied time with an accomplished display but could not tame Joint’s spirit.
She’s not quite going back to the States just yet, as AP AI further noted:
Williams, who has no singles ranking after being out for so long, was given wild card invitations by Wimbledon organizers to play singles and also doubles with older sister Venus. Her doubles match will come later in the week.
And frankly, given the relative obscurity of the top-seeded players in this year’s draw, and with World Cup fever mushrooming with every ensuing match, the Championships could use as many Williams as possible to keep pace.
Courage…