TENNIS: Serena Williams handed wildcard for Wimbledon doubles

LONDON - American great Serena Williams will return to Wimbledon after a four-year absence with a wildcard entry for the women's doubles given by the All England Club on Tuesday.

The 44-year-old winner of 23 Grand Slam singles titles made a comeback this month at the Queen's Club Championships, playing doubles with Canadian Victoria Mboko.

That partnership was cut short prematurely after Mboko suffered a knee injury that ruled her out of Wimbledon. Williams is gearing up for the Grand Slam by playing doubles in Berlin this week partnering Karolina Muchova.

Williams has won seven Wimbledon singles titles and doubles titles alongside older sister Venus, whom she will partner again at this year's Championships.

Her last match at Wimbledon was in 2022 when she also needed a wildcard and lost to Harmony Tan in the first round.

Wildcards are handed to players whose ranking does not allow them automatic entry and are usually reserved for high-profile players returning from injury or those from the home nation.

But when Williams announced she was returning to the match court after her decision four years ago to "evolve away from tennis" it was always likely she would gain a Wimbledon wildcard.

Her return will add a fascinating storyline to this year's championships.

Among those receiving wildcards on the men's side were three-times Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, who is set to retire at the end of the season, and former Wimbledon semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov.

French Open runner-up Maja Chwalinska of Poland was among the beneficiaries on the women's side.

-Reporting by Martyn Herman and Shrivathsa Sridhar; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne/Reuters