It was an Instagram post, published at midday on Tuesday, which had begun to reveal the secret in a few words and a photo. The words : “SW and SW19 (the Wimbledon postcode). It’s a date. 2022 See you there. Let’s Go #renasarmy » The photo: two feet with strapped ankles, shod in Nikes, themselves posed on a lawn flooded with sunlight.

A few hours later, around 4 p.m. French time, the confirmation of his comeback came first with the formalization of a wild card for the doubles event at the WTA 500 tournament in Eastbourne, which takes place next week and that she will compete with the Tunisian Ons Jabeur, world n°4. Then by the publication of the first invitations for the Wimbledon singles, which also included his name, like those of some British players but also those of the Swiss Stan Wawrinka and the Dutchman Tim Van Rijthovenrecent surprise winner of the ‘s-Hertogenbosch tournament.

His reappearance in competition will be one of the highlights of a very special 2022 edition of Wimbledon, for which Russians and Belarusians will be banned from participating, due to the conflict in Ukraine. In reaction to this decision by the Wimbledon organizers to ban participants because of their nationality, no ATP or WTA points will be distributed at the end of the tournament, but this is obviously not something that was likely to change anything. either in the plans of Serena Williams.

All eyes will be on Serena Williams next week. It will only be a double, of course, but how will it move? How will she strike? It will be a great opportunity to gather first impressions, so that we can imagine what she will be capable of the following week, at Wimbledon, where she won seven times, but it was almost in another life, in 2002, 2003 , 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016. This will be his twentieth appearance at Wimbledon, twenty-four years after his first appearance in 1998 (loss in the third round against the Spanish Virginia Ruano Pascual). Eternal Serena Williams.