Wimbledon

Serena and Venus Williams are heading back to Wimbledon together, and the wild-card decision adds another twist to Serena’s return to tennis.The All England Club gave the sisters a doubles wild-card invitation for the tournament that starts in less than two weeks. Serena, 44, recently returned to competition after nearly four years away from professional tennis.A familiar stage for a proven partnershipThe Williams sisters have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together, including six at Wimbledon. Their first two Wimbledon doubles titles, in 2000 and 2002, also came as wild cards.Venus turns 46 on Wednesday and has continued to compete sporadically. The sisters last played doubles together at the 2022 US Open, where they lost in the opening round.Serena’s schedule keeps the comeback in motionSerena won her first doubles match with Victoria Mboko at Queen’s Club in London last week. She was also slated to play doubles with Karolina Muchova at the Berlin Open later Tuesday.That Queen’s Club run ended when Mboko injured her knee in a singles match, forcing the pair to withdraw after their opening win. Serena has not ruled out a singles return at Wimbledon, either, and one of the eight women’s singles wild-card spots is still listed as “to be announced.”Other wild cards fill out the fieldRecent French Open finalist Maja Chwalinska received a women’s singles wild card, along with six British players: Harriet Dart, Alicia Dudeney, Hannah Klugman, Mika Stojsavljevic, Katie Swan and Mimi Xu.In men’s singles, wild cards went to Stan Wawrinka, Grigor Dimitrov and four British players: Jacob Fearnley, Arthur Fery, Jack Pinnington Jones and Toby Samuel. Two more men’s singles wild cards were left open.Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam champion, has said he plans to retire at the end of the year. Dimitrov is now ranked No. 169 after injuries forced him out in the round of 16 last year at Wimbledon, where he had led eventual champion Jannik Sinner by two sets to none before retiring early in the third.In men’s doubles, Alexander Bublik and Nick Kyrgios received a wild card. Kyrgios was a singles finalist at Wimbledon in 2022, while Matteo Berrettini was left off the list despite reaching the French Open quarterfinals and could still gain direct entry depending on withdrawals.Wimbledon begins June 29, and the Williams sisters’ return gives the tournament one of its most recognizable storylines before the first ball is struck. Read more at: www.espn.com

Williams Sisters Return to Wimbledon Doubles, and Serena’s Comeback Takes Another Turn