Wimbledon: Serena Williams vs. Maya Joint - prediction, form, head-to-head

Back astatine the Championships for the archetypal clip successful 4 years, seven-time Wimbledon champion and 23-time Grand Slam victor Serena Williams returns to competitory singles enactment against Maya Joint arsenic she aims to triumph a singles lucifer astatine 44.

Few expected the top women's subordinate of each clip to instrumentality to tennis astatine each aft retiring successful 2022, but she present aims to instrumentality down an off-form hostile 24 years her inferior to scope the 2nd circular astatine SW19. 

Match preview

Stranger things person happened, but Williams's instrumentality to the Championships 4 years aft stepping distant from tennis was unforeseen.

While her instrumentality to the circuit had been teased earlier her eventual comeback astatine Queen's, albeit successful doubles, the 23-time Grand Slam champion present seeks to assertion her archetypal Wimbledon triumph since 2019.

The GOAT's erstwhile 2 appearances successful 2021 and 2022 ended successful first-round defeats arsenic her vocation coiled down.

Aiming to instrumentality to winning ways astatine Wimbledon for the archetypal clip since beating Barbora Strycova successful the 2019 semi-final, Williams seeks her archetypal Grand Slam triumph since the 2022 US Open 2nd circular and 368th wide astatine Joint's expense.

Entering her 22nd main-draw quality astatine SW19 holding a 98-14 vocation record, a 99th triumph for the American superstar would beryllium an undeniable surprise.

Even if the seasoned would backmost herself owing to her opponent's wretched 2026, a triumph implicit the 2025 Eastbourne champion would astonish observers.

Joint reached a career-high ranking of 28th connected the WTA Tour successful February, but the 20-year-old's signifier has plummeted.

Including qualifying, the Australian finished 2025 with a 52-28 grounds that featured a rubric tally successful Eastbourne earlier she fell to Liudmila Samsonova connected her Wimbledon debut.

The youngster heads into her 2nd main-draw quality astatine the Slam having slipped to No 53 successful the rankings, with that descent underlined by a 3-15 grounds this year.

Winless connected writer this year, aft notching 5 wins from 7 12 months ago, the youngster volition anticipation to outlast a physically undercooked hostile who has not played competitory singles tennis successful 4 years.

Head To Head

Williams and Joint person understandably ne'er faced 1 different connected the women's circuit heading into Tuesday's encounter, with the victor taking a 1-0 pb successful their head-to-head.

While the Australian is 0-1 astatine the Championships, Williams is seeking her 99th triumph connected her 22nd quality successful the main draw. 

We say: Joint to triumph successful 2 sets

While the sentimental tendency to opt for Williams is understood, particularly arsenic she faces an hostile connected a miserable 3-15 grounds this season, the GOAT is competitively undercooked.

Given that the returning seven-time champion has yet to triumph a lucifer astatine the Championships since 2019, making a lawsuit for the American prima to extremity her two-match losing tally seems a stretch.

As such, Joint is expected to unafraid a straight-sets victory, thereby signaling her archetypal grass-court triumph this play to acceptable up a second-round lucifer with Alexander Eala oregon Renata Zarazua.