Serena Williams, 44, decided to return to doubles play at Wimbledon in June 2026 alongside her sister Venus Williams after her eight-year-old daughter Olympia encouraged her to play with Venus. Serena said, "My daughter Olympia told me I should play with Venus. She’s always right. 'Mom, maybe you should play with Venus.' She’s very serious, she knows. She’s very smart – she’s very wise, I think is another word" [1].
The Williams sisters have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together, including six at Wimbledon, marking them as one of women's tennis’ most successful pairs [1, 2]. Serena accepted a wildcard to compete in doubles at Wimbledon 2026, marking her first appearance there since retiring in 2022 [1, 2].
Although Serena retired from pro tennis in 2022, she re-entered doping protocols in 2025 to preserve the option of returning to competition [1, 2]. She credited Venus’s performance at the 2025 US Open women's doubles, where Venus reached the quarterfinals, as partial inspiration for her decision. "I think I was really motivated by what Venus was doing that year in the Open doubles. I thought she played really well," Serena said [1].
Serena debuted her comeback on the doubles court in late August 2026 at Queen’s Club, winning her first-round doubles match with Victoria Mboko. This was her first competitive match in 1,375 days [1, 2]. However, she lost in the first round of the doubles tournament in Berlin in early September 2026, partnering with Karolina Muchova [1, 2].
Serena declined to pursue the last available singles wildcard at Wimbledon, stating, "You think I’m ready for singles? I need to get to work." She added, "It wasn’t my goal at the time. I had no intention of actually being here today, to be perfectly honest with you" [1, 2].
Serena and Venus are scheduled to compete in the Wimbledon 2026 doubles draw with the awarded wildcard, aiming to add to their record Grand Slam titles together [1, 2].