Serena Williams and Venus Williams have been handed a wildcard for the Wimbledon women's doubles and will return to action together at Wimbledon 2026. The sisters, who have won the title six times, are back in the draw as one of the most decorated pairings the tournament has ever seen.
The timing matters because Serena, 44, is again in the frame after a comeback at Queen's last week and is playing doubles in Berlin this week with Karolina Muchova. Venus, 45, has also stayed active, winning a doubles match alongside Katie Boulter at the Madrid Open in April. For readers tracking whether the Williams name would return to Wimbledon, the answer is now yes — and in doubles.
That return carries weight beyond nostalgia. Serena has seven Wimbledon titles and 23 Grand Slam singles titles, while Venus has five Wimbledon singles titles. Their doubles record at Wimbledon is enough on its own to explain why the committee was willing to place them back into the women's draw without waiting for any further sign of form.
The broader wildcard picture is less sweeping than the sisters’ return might suggest. Neither Williams sister is on the singles wildcard list, even though one remaining singles wildcard spot still has to be given. The tournament said wildcards are usually offered on the basis of past performance at Wimbledon or to increase British interest, and that logic helps explain why the singles lists were filled elsewhere while the doubles door opened for the Williams sisters.
Dan Evans, 36, did not get a men's singles wildcard, while Stan Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov were handed one each. In the women's singles, Maja Chwalinska was given a spot after reaching the French Open final, and six of the wildcards in the women's draw went to British players. Four British men's players received wildcards on Tuesday, with two more to be confirmed over the next fortnight, and six British players are already ranked high enough for direct entry into the singles draws.
So the immediate answer is simple: Wimbledon 2026 has found a place for Serena and Venus together, but not yet in singles. If the last singles wildcard is used elsewhere, the sisters’ return will remain a doubles story — a significant one, but not the full comeback some may still be waiting to see.
