Serena Williams Reveals Who Convinced Her to Make Tennis Comeback at Wimbledon
Serena Williams Reveals Who Convinced Her to Make Tennis Comeback at Wimbledon
Anna Lazarus CaplanWed, June 17, 2026 at 8:10 PM UTC
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Serena Williams and Venus WilliamsCredit: Visionhaus/Corbis via Getty -
Serena Williams spoke about her return to tennis on Tuesday, June 16
Serena and her sister Venus Williams have received a wildcard to play doubles at Wimbledon
Before her appearance at Queen's Club Championship last week, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion had not played a professional match for nearly four years
Serena Williams is sharing the 8-year-old source of inspiration that has helped guide her tennis comeback.
"My daughter, Olympia, told me I should play with Venus," Williams, 44, told reporters at the Berlin Tennis Open on Tuesday, June 16. "She's always right, so I was like, okay."
For the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, an evolution away from tennis nearly four years ago has come full circle, with Williams' return to the sport and doubles play.
On Tuesday, Williams and her partner Karolina Muchova lost in straight sets to Giuliana Olmos and Erin Routliffe, 6-4, 6-4.
But the loss didn't take away from the excitement surrounding the day's earlier announcement that Serena would reunite with her old doubles partner, sister Venus — who turned 46 on June 17 — to play Wimbledon as wildcards later this month.
The tournament's official Instagram account shared the news alongside a photo of the two on the court together, writing, "Back together, at Wimbledon."
The sisters hope to rekindle some of their old on-the-court magic that netted them six Grand Slam doubles championships.
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Olympia Ohanian, Serena WilliamsCredit: Tim Mosenfelder/FilmMagic
Last week, Serena restarted her doubles career at Queen's Club Championship in London. Alongside her partner, Canadian Victoria Mboko, the duo defeated Routliffe, of New Zealand, and American Nicole Melichar-Martinez in straight sets, 7-6, 6-2.
Two days later, the team was forced to withdraw after Mboko suffered a right knee injury.
For Serena, the connection to family has always been fuel for her success.
"She's very serious," Serena told reporters on Tuesday about Olympia's input. "She knows. She's very smart. She's very wise, I think, is a better word. So I said, 'Okay, Olympia, let's see if we can do it.' "
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The 2026 Wimbledon Championships run from June 29 to July 12 in London.
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