It has been easy to find Serena Williams lately. At awards shows and galas. Starting a venture capital fund. Reveling in the company of her daughter, Olympia. As a pitchwoman for Michelob Ultra and Subway and Chase and DirecTV and migraine pain relief.
But it has not been easy to find her at a tennis match. On June 26, 2021, Williams played on Wimbledon’s Centre Court, the lawn she had spent more than two decades dominating. A few minutes into her first-round match, Williams slipped on the grass and injured her leg. It may simply have been an unfortunate accident. It may have been due to the wear and tear of years and years of tennis—these things happen to bodies of even the most agile among us as we get older. Regardless, afterward, she went nearly a year without playing a professional match.
Which is how it came to be that Wimbledon 2022 experienced its first upset, its first ripple-through-the-field surprise result before the first ball was struck. In mid-June, Serena confirmed she would take a wild-card into the event. She turns 41 in September. Her ranking is 1,204 in the world—1,203 spots off her career-high. Yet, she sent a clear message: I’m not done yet.
