20 hours ago
1 
Serena Williams could be given a hefty fine after she declined to attend her post-match press conference following her first-round defeat on her return to Wimbledon.
Williams accepted a wildcard invitation from the All England Club to play her professional singles match since the 2022 US Open.
The legendary American, a seven-time winner at SW19, was handed a favourable first-round match against Australia’s Maya Joint, who had just one win in her last 14 outings.
But Williams was unable to fully wind back the clock as she fell to a 3-6 7-6 6-3 defeat to the World No. 87.
After trading holds of serve, it was Joint whose impressive hitting saw her land the telling break of serve in the first set to move 5-4 ahead.
And while taken all the way to deuce in the following game, the 20-year-old, who won the Eastbourne Open last year, held her nerve to take the opening set.
Joint broke serve straight away in the second set to open up a 2-0 lead, but Williams showed all her wit and experience to break the Australian back on two occasions before getting the best of a second-set tie-break to level the match.
And while both players exchanged breaks in the early goings of the third set, a tiring Williams could not keep up with her much-younger counterpart as she faded to a 6-3 defeat in the decisive third set.
Williams still has an outing in the Wimbledon doubles with her sister Venus to come, but the 44-year-old surprisingly opted to skip her post-match media duties in what could be the final singles match of her illustrious career.
In a statement shortly after her defeat, Wimbledon said: ‘Unfortunately Serena Williams will not be able to undertake media this evening.’
A brief set of quotes from Williams were instead provided. They read: ‘It was really great to be back at Wimbledon. I never expected to be here.
‘The atmosphere was amazing. Walking out was amazing. I definitely relished it and missed it and enjoyed the moment more than anything.’
Despite that statement, Williams could fall foul of strict rules within the Grand Slam Rulebook, which require players to attend post-match media ‘unless unable to appear on reasonable grounds (for instance illness or injury)’.
‘If a player is unable to appear, the appropriate level of direct communication is requested. Violation of this Section shall subject a player to a fine up to $50,000,’ the rule adds.
It remains to be seen what action, if any, Wimbledon will decide to take on Williams, although she will likely address the media in some capacity before her doubles match with Venus, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday against Solana Sierra and Camila Osorio.
Meanwhile, speaking on-court after her victory, Joint said: ‘I really don’t know what to say right now. I don’t know what just happened, to be honest.
‘I didn’t get much sleep last night, I was up until 2am just thinking about it. Walking out, I forgot the warm-up, I don’t know what happened. My legs weren’t moving. I really don’t know how I got a pretty good start in the match.
‘She [Serena Williams] has so much aura, she is such a legend. This court has had so many huge names that have played in it. I have been dreaming about this since I was a little kid so this is pretty crazy.
‘I think the toughest part was just trying to come out on court and play a match against her. The start was nerve-wracking. Trying to finish out the match as well, I think she definitely lifted her level. She played some great tennis there.’
Joint will take on 29th seed Alexandra Eala in the second round.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Bengali (Bangladesh) · 
English (United States) ·