Serena Williams says her mindset shifted to 'have fun' ahead of 2026 Wimbledon singles return
Serena Williams is set to return to Wimbledon singles play on Tuesday, marking a surprise comeback at the same tournament where she made history with seven singles titles and six doubles titles between 2000 and 2016.
In a new interview with ESPN's Malika Andrews that first aired on "Good Morning America," Williams discussed her comeback to professional tennis and the gut decision she made to step back into singles competition.
"I had only ever planned on playing doubles. I really honestly never thought of going deeper than that. So, it was kind of like a game-time decision, I suppose," Williams said.
The 44-year-old tennis legend will take Centre Court at the All England Lawn Tennis Club on Tuesday to play her first professional singles match since 2022 against 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint, who wasn't even born when Williams won her first Wimbledon singles title in 2002.
"I'm not even sure if I'm there yet to be honest -- honestly, it feels weird," Williams said when asked how she felt after making the decision to play singles again.
Williams never formally retired when she stepped away from the sport after the 2022 U.S. Open, but said at the time she was evolving away from tennis to focus on growing her family and business endeavors.
Now, as Williams prepares to once again compete on the iconic grass courts, she said there may be internal indicators that things are dialed in.
"I think that if I hit a great shot or hit a good serve, I'll be like, 'Yes,' when it's back. But I think that might take some time," she said.
"As of now, I'm not nervous. My expectation here is just to take it easy and to be calm and to have fun, which is something I historically have never done, but in a good way," she added. "I think my intensity and my passion is always great, but I've never just [been] like, 'Oh, let's just have fun.'"
Williams' outlook on success has also changed since becoming a mother of two to daughters Adira, 2, and Olympia, 8, whom she shares with husband Alexis Ohanian.
"I don't have a definition of success right now. For me, it's mostly just making my daughter's school play, doing a lot of volunteering, which I'm No. 1 at. Just being there for my kids, that's my main goals right now," Williams explained.
She continued, "Even when I had my first daughter, Olympia, and I was playing tennis ... it wasn't my priority, but it was my priority at the same time. And I think now that's kind of flipped just to something different."
If it's not "Ms. Rachel" or "Paw Patrol," Williams said she is "so far removed from everything -- I just live in a different bubble right now."
Williams also said fellow Olympian and star skier Lindsey Vonn helped inspire her return.
"Her story inspired me so much. I thought, 'I'm not doing anything nearly as difficult as that,'" Williams said. "And it was really, I think, one of the straws that broke the camel's back, saying, 'OK, I should take a shot at doubles.'"
The 2026 Wimbledon Championships will be played over 14 days from Monday, June 29, through Sunday, July 12, with ladies' doubles starting Wednesday.
The first round of Wimbledon will be broadcast live on ESPN with streaming options available as well.
Disney is the parent company of ESPN and ABC News.
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