US player Serena Williams reacts as she trains at the practice courts at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on June 24, 2026, ahead of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships. Glyn Kirk, AFP
Tennis legend Serena Williams is embracing a "great opportunity" in her return to Wimbledon, where she accepted a wild card into the singles draw.
Speaking at the Media Theater during her pre-tournament press conference, the 23-time Grand Slam champion admitted that she had wrestled with her decision until almost the very last moment.
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"I had until Monday to decide. I think it was like Sunday. I just wasn't sure up until then. Honestly, I'm still not even sure, but we'll see," she said.
"Not every day Wimbledon holds a wild card for someone. I can name probably like a handful of people. I happened to be one of those people. I thought I should really take this opportunity. Who knows if I'll ever make it here again. This could be it," she added.
"People live to be an athlete. I have this great opportunity to showcase what I do, what I do best, I suppose."
Williams last played a singles match four years ago, but announced her comeback earlier in June. She played doubles at Queen's Club with Victoria Mboko, and will also play doubles at Wimbledon with sister Venus.
"I never thought I'd be back here sitting in front of this. We all know how I feel about this. So I never thought I would do this again," she said. "When I retired, I had never thought I'd come back."
But what Williams looks forward to most is simply "being out there."
"I think my feelings will be different. I think in general my expectations are definitely different for the first time in my career," she said. "Not that I never enjoyed it before, or else I wouldn't be here today but I feel like I'm really going to enjoy being out there."
Williams has described her return to the sport as "like riding a bike uphill."
Asked if the road feels less steep now, she said: "For me the ride has always been uphill."
"There's only been a few times it's been downhill. Those are fun times.
"I think that's just in general. Like, if you want to do something good or great, you have to always push yourself more. Even if it's easy, you should take the uphill route. So yeah, I still feel like it's uphill," she added.
Williams opens her campaign against Australia's Maya Joint, and may be in a collision course with Filipina ace Alex Eala if they both win their first round assignments.