One of the most iconic sibling pairs in tennis history is set to return to the sport’s most famous grass court, as Venus and Serena Williams have received a wildcard entry to compete in the 2025 Wimbledon women’s doubles draw. The surprise announcement has sent ripples of excitement through the global tennis community, marking Serena Williams’ first Grand Slam appearance since her widely assumed retirement after the 2022 US Open.
Now 44 years old, Serena, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion with seven Wimbledon singles titles to her name, launched her competitive comeback last week at the Queen’s Club Championship, and is currently competing in doubles in Berlin alongside top-ranked Karolina Muchova. Her reunion with older sister Venus at the All England Club will be the pair’s first Grand Slam appearance together since that 2022 US Open run.
At 45, five-time Wimbledon singles champion Venus Williams has maintained limited competitive play in recent seasons. Though she has dropped all seven of her singles matches in 2025, she notched a doubles win at the Madrid Open in April alongside Britain’s Katie Boulter, and previously made history in 2024 as the second-oldest woman to claim a WTA Tour-level singles match win at the Washington Open. Speaking ahead of Serena’s comeback, Venus expressed nothing but confidence in her sister’s form, telling reporters: “The quality of her stroke is obviously there. She is a natural — she is very tenacious.”
The Williams sisters’ legacy at Wimbledon is unmatched by any active pair. Between them, they have claimed 12 Wimbledon singles titles, and partnered together to take home six women’s doubles crowns at the tournament — their first coming in 2000, and their most recent in 2016. Three decades after they first burst onto the professional tennis scene as teenage prodigies, revolutionizing the women’s game with their power, athleticism and aggressive style, their return has become one of the most anticipated storylines of the 2025 grass court season.
Notably, neither sister was selected for a singles wildcard, though one women’s singles spot remains unassigned. The wildcard announcement also brought disappointment for several high-profile players heading into the tournament, which kicks off on June 29.
Former British number one Dan Evans, who announced that 2025 will be the final season of his professional career, was not awarded a wildcard into the men’s singles main draw. Unless he claims one of the two remaining wildcard spots to be allocated over the next two weeks, he will need to navigate the qualifying draw to secure a spot in his final Wimbledon singles appearance. The 36-year-old, who helped Britain claim its first Davis Cup title in 79 years in 2015 and has reached the Wimbledon third round three times, voiced his frustration after being overlooked for a Queen’s Club wildcard earlier this month, saying he feels he has not been taken seriously as a competitor. He did receive a consolation doubles wildcard, however, paired with 2023 Wimbledon boys’ champion Henry Searle for that draw.
In contrast, three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, who is also retiring at the end of the 2025 season, received a men’s singles wildcard, alongside Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov, a 2014 Wimbledon semi-finalist who was forced to retire from a 2024 fourth-round match against eventual champion Jannik Sinner while holding a two-set lead.
Other notable players who missed out on men’s singles wildcards include 2021 runner-up Matteo Berrettini, 2022 finalist Nick Kyrgios, and retiring French veteran Gael Monfils. Berrettini is heavily favored to claim a main draw spot as the first alternate if a player withdraws before the tournament, while Kyrgios did receive a doubles wildcard, paired with Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik.
In the women’s singles draw, recently crowned French Open runner-up Maja Chwalinska earned a wildcard following her breakthrough run at Roland Garros, alongside six British players who received wildcard entries. Six British players, including 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, earned direct entry to the singles draws based on their ranking, alongside four British men who received wildcard entries on Tuesday. Wildcards for the tournament are selected at the discretion of the Wimbledon committee, which notes selections are typically based “on the basis of past performance at Wimbledon or to increase British interest.”