Serena Williams to make singles return at Wimbledon

Serena Williams will make a stunning return to singles at this year's Wimbledon after being handed the final wildcard berth by the All England Club.

The seven-time Wimbledon singles champion was already assured of a return to the championships for the first time in four years after accepting a doubles wildcard with sister Venus.

"This is not a drill," the tournament wrote in a post on its Instagram account.

The announcement that the 44-year-old mother of two will play singles will provide a massive storyline for the grand slam tournament, which starts on June 29.

The 23-time major singles champion returned to court at this month's Queen's Club championships after a four-year absence, playing doubles with Canada's Victoria Mboko.

She also played doubles in Berlin last week.

Williams, widely regarded as the greatest female tennis player of all time, last contested the Wimbledon singles as a wildcard in 2022.

She lost to Harmony Tan in round one.

After the 2022 US Open, Williams said she would "evolve away from tennis", although ⁠never officially retired.

Wildcards are handed out by tournament organisers to players whose rankings do not permit automatic entry.

They are usually reserved for players from the host nation, those with illustrious career records or high-profile players returning from injury.

Williams first appeared at Wimbledon in 1998, reaching the third round of singles.

She won the title for the first time in 2002, beating older sister Venus in the final.

Williams spent a combined total of 319 weeks as the WTA world number one.

She added Wimbledon singles crowns in 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016 and also won six doubles titles at the grass-court major with sister Venus.