Venus and Serena Williams will compete together in the women's doubles draw at Wimbledon after receiving a wildcard entry to the tournament. The All England Club announced the decision as part of its wildcard selections, with organizers noting this was one of the most anticipated announcements in recent memory due to Serena's comeback after four years away from professional tennis.
The sisters have not played doubles together since the 2022 US Open, where they lost in the opening round. This Wimbledon partnership marks a significant return for both players, who have achieved considerable success at the venue throughout their careers, including six women's doubles titles at the tournament.
Serena, a seven-time singles champion, did not request a singles wildcard for Wimbledon and has remained unclear about whether she intends to pursue singles competition. At 44 years old, she returned to competition recently at Queen's Club, where she won her opening match in doubles with Victoria Mboko. Venus, a five-time singles champion, also did not receive a singles wildcard. The 46-year-old has remained active on the professional tour since her 1994 debut, pausing only due to health-related issues.
The Williams sisters are among the most successful doubles pairings in tennis history. Together, they have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, ranking as the joint-second highest total in the open era. They have claimed six women's doubles titles specifically at Wimbledon, the highest number in the open era, and have earned three Olympic gold medals in women's doubles competition.
The wildcard system at Wimbledon allows the All England Club to grant tournament entry to players who may lack sufficient ranking points for automatic qualification but bring significant interest to the event. This approach enables the organizers to include notable competitors who might otherwise miss the draw.
Wimbledon organizers made several other notable wildcard selections. Maja Chwalinska, who reached the French Open women's singles final as a qualifier, received a wildcard and will hold the unusual dual status of both wildcard and seeded player at a Grand Slam tournament due to her recent ranking jump to number 21. Veteran players Stan Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov also received singles wildcards, while Britain's Dan Evans and Henry Searle earned a doubles wildcard together.
The announcement reflected the high level of attention surrounding Serena's return to professional tennis. Before Wimbledon, she competed in doubles at the Berlin WTA tournament alongside Karolina Muchova, the number 10 singles player. The Williams sisters' participation in the doubles draw adds considerable attention to Wimbledon's doubles competition, which typically receives less focus than the singles events at major tournaments.