Serena Williams already stranded in the first round at Wimbledon in the long-awaited return | NOW

Serena Williams suffered a direct defeat in her first singles match in a year. The 23-time Grand Slam winner was defeated in the first round at Wimbledon 5-7, 6-1 and 6-7 (7) by the French Harmony Tan.

The former world number one gave up crying in her first Wimbledon match a year ago after she slipped on the grass. She tore her hamstring, has not played any official singles matches since then and dropped to number 1,204 in the WTA rankings.

After much speculation about the end of her impressive career, forty-year-old Williams suddenly announced this month that she would participate in Wimbledon with a wild card. In the run-up to the Grand Slam tournament, she only played two doubles with the Tunisian Ons Jabeur at the WTA tournament in Eastbourne.

With a draw against Wimbledon debutant Tan, reaching the second round nevertheless seemed feasible. The number 115 in the world, however, came out strong and struck in the first set with a late break.

After that, Williams seemed to be able to turn the tide. She easily won the second set and was allowed to serve for the match at 5-4 in the third set. However, she was unable to finish the job and escaped at 5-6 even when Tan missed a match point.

In the game tie-break, the Williams took the first four points, but Tan again showed resilience. The Frenchwoman, who only survived the first round twice at a Grand Slam, took the victory after three hours and ten minutes.