Wimbledon 2026 pages
Sports · Wimbledon 2026 · Women's Singles · Round of 128
Serena Williams vs Maya Joint — 6-3 6-7(6) 6-3
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Final · Monday, June 29, 2026 · Round of 128
Result
Australian Maya Joint ended Serena Williams's comeback in the first round, winning 6–3 6–7(6) 6–3 on Centre Court in 2 hours 21 minutes. Playing her first Grand Slam singles match since the 2022 US Open on a wildcard, Williams took the second set in a tiebreak before Joint reasserted control in the decider. Joint out-hit the American with forty winners to twenty-six and took the total points 115 to 103.
Stats: Official wimbledon.com match statistics (IBM) · as of 2026-07-09
Rows the source hadn’t published are left off rather than guessed.
At this Stage
The wildcard read Serena Williams, the occasion felt like far more than a first round, and Maya Joint treated it as neither. The Australian, ranked outside the top 80, won 6-3 6-7(6) 6-3 in 2 hours 21 minutes, ending Williams's first Grand Slam singles appearance since the 2022 US Open. Williams, 44, saved a match point and stole the second-set tiebreak — one last refusal in front of a Centre Court that wanted more — but Joint's forty winners kept coming. The reward was a last-64 meeting with No. 29 seed Alexandra Eala, since lost in three; the achievement was holding her nerve while the day belonged, sentimentally, to the other side of the net.
What we know now
Court: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London
Match length: 2:22
Tale of the tape
Player vitals: ATP Tour player profiles and Wikipedia (career records) · as of 2026-07-09.
The briefing
Storylines
- Williams, 44, returned to Grand Slam singles on a wildcard, her first such match since the 2022 US Open.
- Williams saved a match point and forced a deciding set by taking the second-set tiebreak.
- Joint, ranked outside the top 80, advanced to the second round.
Head to head
This was their first career meeting, and Joint leads the head-to-head 1–0.
Source: WTA head-to-head · as of 2026-06-29.
Venue: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London — grass.