Staff Writer 
AMERICAN superstars Serena Williams and Venus Williams will return to Wimbledon action together after they were handed a wildcard to compete in the women’s doubles.
Neither sister is included on the list of singles wildcards, although there is one remaining spot still to be given.
Serena, 44, made her comeback at Queen’s last week, four years after playing what many expected to be the final match of her career at the 2022 US Open.
The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion continued her doubles comeback in Berlin this week, but she and partner Karolina Muchova lost 6-4 6-4 to doubles specialists Giuliana Olmos and Erin Routliffe.
Seven of Serena’s major singles title came at Wimbledon, while she and Venus won the doubles title together six times at SW19.
Five-time Wimbledon singles champion Venus, 45, has lost all seven of her singles matches this season, but won a doubles match alongside Britain’s Katie Boulter at the Madrid Open in April.
Serena said she was inspired to return by both her elder sister’s run to last year’s US Open women’s doubles quarter-finals and a conversation with her oldest daughter.
“I had no intention of actually being here today, to be perfectly honest with you,” she said.
“My daughter Olympia told me I should play with Venus. She’s always right.
“I think I was really motivated by what Venus was doing that year in the [US] Open doubles. I thought she played really well.”
Asked if she would consider a singles return at SW19, Williams said: “You think I’m ready for singles? I need to get to work.”
Former British number one Dan Evans has not been given a wildcard for the men’s singles main draw in what will be the final tournament of the 36-year-old’s career.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, who is also retiring at the end of the season, has been handed a place, along with Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov.
French Open runner-up Maja Chwalinska has been rewarded for her Roland Garros run with a wildcard for the women’s singles.
Wimbledon begins on Monday, 29 June.
Six British players – Cameron Norrie, Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter, Jack Draper, Jan Choinski and Francesca Jones – are ranked high enough to receive direct entry into the singles draws.
On Tuesday, wildcards were given to four British men’s players, with two more spots to be confirmed over the next fortnight.
Men’s singles wildcards: Grigor Dimitrov, Jacob Fearnley, Arthur Fery, Jack Pinnington Jones, Toby Samuel, Stan Wawrinka
Six of the wildcards in the women’s draw were given to British players.
Women’s singles wildcards: Maja Chwalinska, Harriet Dart, Alicia Dudeney, Hannah Klugman, Mika Stojsavljevic, Katie Swan, Mimi Xu
The wildcards are chosen at the discretion of the Wimbledon committee.
The tournament said wildcards are usually offered “on the basis of past performance at Wimbledon or to increase British interest”.
The Williams sisters changed the tennis landscape when they arrived as talented teenagers in the 1990s.
With their powerful game styles, skill sets and athleticism, the pair blew opponents off the court as they swept up the game’s most prestigious prizes.
Between them, they have won 30 Grand Slam singles titles – including 12 Wimbledon victories. They won their first Wimbledon doubles title together in 2000 and their most recent in 2016.
Now, three decades since their initial impact on the sport, they are reuniting on the biggest stage.
The pair have not played together since the 2022 US Open, which was Serena Williams’ final tournament before she “evolved away” from the sport.
Venus Williams, who turns 46 on Wednesday, has continued to play sparingly on the tour in recent seasons, including at this year’s Australian Open where she was given a singles wildcard.
She became the second oldest woman to win a WTA Tour-level singles match by beating 23-year-old Peyton Stearns at last year’s Washington Open.
Asked at the recent French Open about her sister’s comeback, Venus Williams said she was “not worried” about how Serena would play.
“What I will tell you is she will not hit for four months then grab her racquet and come out and hit a tonne out of the ball – it’s incredible,” Venus Williams told TNT Sports.
“The quality of her stroke is obviously there. She is a natural – she is very tenacious.” – BBC Sport
