LONDON (AP) — Anticipation is building at Wimbledon for Serena Williams’ first singles match in nearly four years.
The 44-year-old Williams is scheduled to play an opponent less than half her age, 20-year-old Maya Joint of Australia, in the third match Tuesday on Centre Court — the patch of grass where the American standout won seven of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles.
“I think everyone’s feeling the same way: Cannot wait to be watching Serena back on Centre Court again,” Sally Bolton, the chief executive of the All England Club, said Monday.
Wimbledon organizers took the unusual step of holding up an eighth and final wild card spot for Williams until she accepted the invitation at almost the last possible moment the weekend before qualifying began.
“We were all sitting there sort of quietly keeping our fingers crossed that that’s what would happen,” Bolton said when asked by The Associated Press how anxious the club was while Williams pondered her decision.
“She is such an icon of the sport and particularly here at the championship she’s one of our most special champions,” Bolton added. “So it really will be the ticket to have tomorrow when she walks back on Centre Court.”
Whether it was related to Williams or not, the queue (line) of would-be-spectators camping out overnight for the daily batches of Wimbledon tickets on offer had reached 10,000 people by Monday morning.
“We are advising people if they haven’t already set off to travel, not to travel because the queue is effectively full,” Bolton said. “By comparison to last year, it is really busy.”
Williams will also play doubles with older sister Venus Williams later in the week.
Since Serena last won Wimbledon a decade ago, eight different women have won the title.
“It was needed a wee bit to kind of reinvent the women’s game,” said Lauren Byrne, a 26-year-old spectator at Wimbledon from near Dublin. “She’s definitely going to bring a bit more excitement back.”
Added Byrne’s father, Anthony: “It’s just great to see her. She still has the appetite, hasn’t she, to play at this level? … Age isn’t a barrier.”
Gibran Chenia, a London resident who described himself as “50-plus,” called Williams “a legend.
“And if she’s half as good as she was, she is going to be great for tennis,” Chenia said. “It’s great to have legends back.”
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
