Novak Djokovic seeks 2024 answers for Alcaraz and Sinner after great effort: 4 ATP Wimbledon takeaways

On Tuesday morning, the 23-time Grand Slam champion dropped a picture of clean white tennis shoes with verdant grass underfoot—along with this unexpected caption:

SW and SW19. It’s a date. 2022 See you there.

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A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams)

There was little indication that the 40-year-old would return in time for Wimbledon, or even at all this season. But 12 months after the American took a tearful tumble on Centre Court in her first-round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich—suffering a significant ankle injury in the process—she's all but certain to return to tennis' grandest stage.

She'll also compete the week before Wimbledon, in Eastbourne, but only in the doubles draw, alongside Ons Jabeur.

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The stage awaits.

Our 7-time champion @serenawilliams will return to Wimbledon as a wild card this summer for her 21st appearance pic.twitter.com/7ddMAv7mOq
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 14, 2022

The plot thickens: "The LTA is pleased to announce that Serena Williams is set to make her first tournament appearance in almost a year, when she will pair up with Tunisia’s world No.4 Ons Jabeur for the doubles event of the LTA’s Rothesay International Eastbourne next week."
— Stuart Fraser (@stu_fraser) June 14, 2022

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Williams has won Wimbledon seven times, the last title coming in 2016. Her last Grand Slam title victory was at the 2017 Australian Open. Given her lack of recent play, she's currently ranked No. 1,208, but she receives a wild card into the main draw of SW19.

Here's guessing the All England Club didn't have to mull Williams' request for one very long.

Serena Williams at a practice session at Wimbledon, last June.

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