A year after her last game, superstar Serena Williams returns to the tennis tour at Wimbledon.
The 23-time Grand Slam tournament winner will receive a wild card for the race classic, as the organizers announced. The 40-year-old American played her last match at the All England Club a year ago when she retired injured in the first round against Alexandra Sasnovich of Belarus.
Due to her long absence from the professional tour, there had also been speculation of a possible impending retirement. With another Grand Slam title, Serena Williams would equal Australia’s Margaret Court’s record.
Williams has won seven times at Wimbledon. The third Grand Slam event of the season begins on June 27th. The week before, the long-time number one in the world played doubles at the WTA tournament in Eastbourne to warm up for Wimbledon.