Serena Williams announced Tuesday on social media that she will end a nearly yearlong tennis hiatus and compete in Wimbledon 2022 later this month in London.  Williams posted a photo of her white shoes on green grass on Instagram and Facebook, with the caption: “SW and SW 19,” (in reference to the tournament site’s postal code). “It’s a date. 2022. See you there. Let’s go Rena’s Army.”  Williams also tagged Wimbledon, as well as the Eastbourne, in her Tuesday post on Instagram. The Rothesay International Eastbourne, a warmup tournament for Wimbledon, will be held a week before the Grand Slam in Eastbourne, England.

Wimbledon shared on Twitter that Williams was awarded a wild-card entry for singles; posting a picture of Williams with the caption “Welcome Back Serena”. Their tweet read: “The stage awaits. Our 7-time champion @serenawilliams will return to Wimbledon as a wild card this summer for her 21st appearance.” Wimbledon 2022 will run June 27 through July 10 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London.

The 40-year-old Williams played her last official match last June 29 against Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the first round of 2021 Wimbledon, where she sustained a right leg injury and retired in the first set. Williams missed the 2021 U.S. Open, 2022 Australian Open and 2022 French Open during her hiatus from tennis. She announced in November that she planned to play in the 2022 Australian Open, but withdrew after receiving advice from her medical team.

Williams’ last Grand Slam win was at the 2017 Australian Open, while she was two months pregnant. Williams holds seven Wimbledon titles and remains one Grand Slam title behind Margaret Court’s record total of 24.

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