French Open 2026 live updates: Quarterfinals latest with Alexander Zverev and Elina Svitolina among those in quarterfinal action

There’s a feeling that the sport’s queen is returning — even if the full contours of Serena Williams’ comeback are yet to be defined.

Williams was tennis’ reference point for so long, winning her first Grand Slam title as a 17-year-old in 1999, and her last while pregnant at age 35. She reached four more finals after giving birth, and in her last event, the 2022 U.S. Open, she won two matches in front of frenzied crowds the tournament, and the sport in general, had never seen before or since.

A return to New York is tantalizing, but it is Wimbledon where there might be a slight sense of unfinished business. Williams’ last match there was a three-set, first-round defeat in 2022 to Harmony Tan, who was ranked No. 115. The year before that, she left the court in tears after slipping and injuring her leg in her first-round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

Even in a sport with new heroes, no one can come close to Williams’ star power. She hasn’t even played a match yet, and she is already one of the sporting stories of the year.