Wimbledon: Serena Williams Loses, but the Applause Is for Her

Back at Wimbledon four years after her last appearance, at the “venerable” age of 44, Serena Williams dreamed of pulling off a major upset in the first round of the 2026 tournament, where she competed in the women’s draw as a wild card. The Queen of World Tennis, a seven-time champion in London, gave Australian Maya Joint quite a run for her money, losing only in the third set after two and a half hours of play.

The final score was 6-3, 6(6)-7, 6-3 in favor of the No. 87 player on the WTA Tour, who turned 20 on April 16. Facing Serena was no walk in the park, and when the American won the tiebreak in the second set—coming back from a 1-3 deficit—the crowd began to seriously wonder if the match might take a turn that few had truly imagined beforehand.

As the match continued, however, Joint regained her composure and, finding herself down 2-1 in the third set, shifted into high gear, winning four consecutive games that effectively sealed the victory for her. In the end, there was applause for both players and well-deserved praise both for the young American-born Australian and, above all, for the winner of no fewer than 23 Grand Slam tournaments, who proved herself competitive in a decidedly challenging setting.