Which 23-time major champion made a singles return at 2026 Wimbledon?

Serena Williams, the 23-time major champion, made her singles return at the 2026 Wimbledon Championships.

Williams returned to Wimbledon singles after last playing a singles match at the 2022 US Open, where she lost to Ajla Tomljanović in the third round. Her 2026 appearance therefore marked a return to singles competition after roughly four years away from the discipline.

The comeback carried special weight at Wimbledon. Williams had won the women’s singles title seven times, including four consecutive championships from 2002 through 2003 and 2009 through 2010, and she remains one of the tournament’s defining modern champions. Her 23 major singles titles are the most in the Open Era and second-most all time.

The clue can cause confusion because Venus Williams is also a multiple Wimbledon champion and Serena’s sister, while Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep are former major winners. However, the combination of 23 major singles titles and the 2026 singles comeback points specifically to Serena Williams.