Wimbledon 2022: One year on, Serena Williams departs with undue haste again

It was a surprise, of the best kind, when seven-time champion Serena Williams announced she had taken a wild card into Wimbledon.

A surprise because, since her tearful first-round retirement with injury here last year, she had not played a competitive match, and some began to doubt whether, at 40 years old, she would ever return.

But when the news broke that she would prepare for Wimbledon with doubles play alongside current world No2 Ons Jabeur at Eastbourne, it swiftly turned into one of the storylines of this year’s Wimbledon, one in which the absence of her fellow 40-year-old champion Roger Federer was also much discussed.

Williams had first played here in 1998, and had already notched up 20 appearances; Federer first played in 1999, and had played in all 22 editions since. But whereas Federer had undergone knee surgery after his last match, also here a year ago, and was not yet fit to play, Williams had clearly been preparing for this moment and, as she was at pains to point out:

“There’s oftentimes that I think subconsciously I’d take breaks. I never played as much as the next player throughout my whole career. I think that was all subconscious, me knowing how to take care of myself.”

It had also preyed on her mind, the nature of her exit last year, giving her extra motivation:

“It was a lot of motivation, to be honest. It was always something since the match ended that was on my mind… You never want any match to end like that. It’s really unfortunate. But it was definitely something that’s always been on the top of my mind.”

How big a factor in the draw would her presence be, though? Some seemed to think she would hit the ground running, as she had done many times before, but in reality, that was always a huge ask.

It became even more of an ask when, unseeded, she fell into one of the toughest quarters of the women’s draw. She could face last year’s runner-up Karolina Pliskova in the third round, teenage star Coco Gauff in the fourth round, and then one of two former champions, Simona Halep or Petra Kvitova in the quarters—neither of whom was the top seed here: that was No4 Paula Badosa.

Yet most expected her to negotiate the first round against one of the debutantes in the draw. Harmony Tan, ranked 115, was playing only the fourth grass-court tournament of her career, and she had yet to win a grass match.

For the 24-year-old who was born just one year before Williams first played Wimbledon, then, it was a mountain to climb, but of course Williams’ form and fitness were untested, unknown.

Never mind: the Wimbledon fans would stay well into the dark hours, after the roof had closed and the lights turned on, cheering every point, and with greater volume as the match moved from one set to two, one hour to two, then on to three…

And with the crowd was as rousing, vocal, and encouraging as it could be, Williams was as passionate as she has ever been, leaping in the air and pumping her fist after pulling off a signature winner—which she did several times.

She began slowly, as one might expect, and all the more so given the cool conditions. Tan broke straight away, but Williams soon hit her stride to level again at 2-2. Yet the Frenchwoman, a faster mover, with plenty of variety in her use of spin and angle, countered a second break, 4-4, and then broke again to serve for the set: She did so, 7-5, with Williams making too many errors, and her usually match-winning serve lacking some of its old fire-power.

But in the second, it was as though a switch had been thrown, Williams broke twice, and served out the set, 6-1, to rapturous cheering. Surely, she would now sweep to victory in similar style.

But Tan, with admirable focus and self-belief, shrugged off an early break in the third to level again at 2-2, and did so again for 4-4. There were moments of magical play from the former champion, as she summoned huge forehands and winning overheads, but she began to look slower, more fatigued, and ultimately, that may have been her downfall.

When Williams broke again, she roared in celebration as though the match was already won. She stepped up to serve for the match, 5-4, the Centre Court reached fever pitch, but Tan rose to the challenge, forcing errors, and broke again with a backhand winner.

By this stage, Williams had not produced one ace in the set, and that would continue as they headed to a tie-break, the new version that goes to 10 points, and Williams opened a 4-0 lead. However, Tan produced some stunning winners to level, and then Williams, with her 19th error of the set, conceded the match she had looked certain to close out, 7-6(7).

It was, of course, a wonderful moment for Tan, who later admitted:

“It’s a dream because I saw Serena on the TV when I was young. My coach, Nathalie Tauziat, played her 20 years ago. So, yeah, it’s a big generation [gap]. She’s a legend. I mean, she won 23 Grand Slams. When you play her, I was scared. I mean, I was scared when I was on the court, but really happy to be there.”

Of course the big question now is whether Williams will deliver another ‘surprise’ and opt into more tournaments when the tour heads back to North America after Wimbledon. Or indeed whether she might return to SW19. She was blunt:

“I don’t know. Who knows? Who knows where I’ll pop up?”

But she was also at pains to stay positive about her performance:

“Physically I was fine. Last couple points I really started to feel it, but I’m moving well, I’m getting a lot of balls back. I’m moving well in practice, as well… It definitely makes me want to hit the practice courts because, you know, when you’re playing not bad and you’re so close…”

And she did not discount trying again for that elusive record 24th Major at her home tournament:

“I mean, when you’re at home, especially in New York, and the US Open, that being the first place I’ve won a Grand Slam, is something that’s always super special… There’s definitely lots of motivation to get better and to play at home.”

Williams has won 98 matches at Wimbledon, and maybe there would have been a nice completeness in making it a century. Perhaps she will come back to try again—but right now, it feels unlikely.