20-year-old Maya Joint says she has been “dreaming” of playing on Centre Court since she was little, after overcoming “legend” Serena Williams to reach the second round of Wimbledon 2026.

READ MORE: Williams falls just short on Wimbledon singles return

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THE ALL ENGLAND CLUB, London — Wimbledon’s Royal Box wasn’t packed with A-list celebrities Tuesday evening, despite the occasion. Movie stars, musicians and generational athletes didn’t dot the stands on Centre Court. There was no special ceremony ahead of Serena Williams’ first singles match in nearly four years — there isn’t even a separate night session at tennis’ oldest Grand Slam, and thus no natural way to single out what was perhaps the most anticipated match of the year.

For a tournament with such meticulous dedication to tradition and history, there isn’t much pomp and circumstance about Wimbledon once the matches begin. Tennis is the whole show, and that’s enough.

It’s also part of what made Wimbledon feel like the perfect setting for 44-year-old Williams’ return to Grand Slam tennis, a 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3 loss to the 20-year-old American-born Aussie Maya Joint.

Grass is a comfortable surface for Williams, who won seven singles championships at Wimbledon. The timing of the tournament gives her a long runway, should she choose to play in front of home crowds at the U.S. Open later this summer.

But beginning her singles comeback at Wimbledon also allowed the moment to feel appropriately special, while keeping the focus on tennis. Tuesday felt like any other day at the All England Club. In New York, U.S. Open crowds would have almost certainly mobbed Williams the moment she stepped within public view. At Wimbledon, a group of politely interested onlookers watched her mid-afternoon practice with little fanfare. There were no fans on grounds holding signs, or people clearly there for her match alone — Centre Court tickets are far too exclusive to obtain with little warning, and Williams only announced she was playing singles the week before.

After months of speculation that morphed into anticipation a week ago, there was little buildup for the start of the match.

Wimbledon does not sell separate night session tickets, so a slog of a four-set match won by French Open champion Alexander Zverev against Alexander Blockx rolled right into Williams’ return without ceremony.

A short hype video played on the screen tastefully planted in the corner of Centre Court while many ticket-holders were still milling about the stadium, getting refreshments. Joint and Williams walked out one after the other without an emcee announcing their names.

That’s the usual practice at Wimbledon. No flashing lights, no blaring music, no extra mustard, certainly not for a first-round match.

Here, tradition and order bend to no player. But the tournament’s special status — its unwillingness to place any person above the sport — are part of why Williams wanted to play singles, not just doubles with her sister Venus, after waffling on the decision.

“Well, I thought not every day Wimbledon holds a wild card for someone,” she said in a news conference Sunday. “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.”

Wimbledon may not change, but its crowd will get loud — especially with the roof over Center Court closed, as it was Tuesday because the match began after 7:15 p.m.

When the lights embedded in the retractable roof flickered on five minutes later, a tremble went through the stadium. Those who weren’t already standing in anticipation jumped up to get a look at Williams and Joint walking onto court, and the first cheer of the night broke out: “Let’s go ‘Rena, let’s go!” The cheers rose in volume when Williams bounded to the center of the court and shuffled side to side like a boxer, loosening her shoulder joint and getting used to the feeling of grass beneath her feet again.

Serena Williams showed plenty of her old magic Tuesday night on Centre Court. (Andrew Matthews / PA Images via Getty Images)

The crowd worked itself into a fever pitch by Wimbledon standards as the night went on, roaring with applause when she finally held serve after a long game and exploding when she won the second set. Before the start of the third, a woman in the crowd leapt to her feet during the quiet of the set break and cried “Yes! Come on Serena!” while clapping.

She then excitedly turned to her neighbors in the stands and said, “Please excuse me, please excuse me.”

Even Williams’ outfit was toned down. During her farewell tour in 2022 she sported crystals on her jacket and shoes, but Tuesday she had nothing elaborate to reveal — just a simple Nike top and skirt with a breathable pattern. Williams decided to play the night before Wimbledon’s deadline, which didn’t give her longtime clothing sponsor enough time to whip up something special.

“This was a game-time decision. Fashion obviously means a lot to me, but there’s only so much you can do in such a quick turnaround,” she said in her pre-tournament news conference.

Unadorned outfit aside, the feeling of watching Williams play was familiar. Dedicated fans have seen her walk out onto court, two thin headbands pinned atop her head, over-ear headphones canceling out the noise around her, hundreds of times.

But there was plenty new to notice, too.

Williams, likely for the first time in many viewers’ memory, looked hesitant with her footwork, as if delicately feeling for purchase on the slick grass. She tugged at the bottom of her crop top between points. Her grunts came late into rallies, as if she was encouraging herself to go for more.

Williams has long played with an air of regality she earned while accumulating 23 Grand Slam titles. She doesn’t rush when moving between points. She arrives on court with her eyes narrowed and chin tilted just so, as if surveying her dominion.

Tuesday, she looked more human. A little nervous. A little rusty. Entirely, endearingly, relatable.

Hearing the applause of an adoring crowd while walking onto Centre Court at Wimbledon is surely something every champion misses when they retire. But Williams has also repeatedly said that a large driving force in her comeback is her desire to have her children see her play the sport she dedicated her life to, from childhood until age 40. Could anyone who hasn’t seen Williams play tennis truly understand her? It was the thing she did better than nearly anyone else on the planet for the better part of 30 years.

But there is some poetry in Williams’ daughters, Olympia and Adira, not seeing her as a world-beater. They still got to experience the crowd’s love for their mother, see the impact she makes. In the months leading up to her return to Wimbledon, they most likely watched some of the work she did in preparation. Maybe they saw her sweat. Maybe they saw her fail, and start again.

Williams’ children didn’t watch her win her match Tuesday. But they saw her. Maybe the memories will help them know her mother more fully. That would seem more than enough.

Former Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby said Tuesday that he is focused on preparing for the 2027 NFL Draft, publicly putting an end to any attempts to play football in 2026 or challenge the league’s decision to not hold a supplemental draft for him.

The NFL sent a memo to its 32 teams on Tuesday, informing them that Sorsby would not be pursuing litigation against the league.

“For purposes of League and CBA rules, Mr. Sorsby will be considered a ‘Draft-Eligible’ player for the 2027 NFL Draft. Mr. Sorsby will not be eligible to sign an NFL Player Contract until the completion of the 2027 NFL Draft,” the memo read.

In a statement provided to The Athletic, Sorsby said he is “fully committed to being the best version of myself that I can be while getting ready for the 2027 draft.”

“I accept 100% responsibility for my actions,” Sorsby’s statement read. “I did not have control of my gambling problem and it took getting caught for me to realize that, but it was truly the best thing that could’ve happened to me. Because of this, I have been able to get the help I need and fully focus on my recovery.”

Sorsby, 22, has been in limbo since he announced in April that he would take an “immediate indefinite leave of absence” to enter a residential treatment program for a gambling addiction. An NCAA investigation found that the quarterback, who transferred from Cincinnati to Texas Tech during the offseason, violated several of the organization’s gambling rules, including betting on his own team when he played for Indiana. It then ruled that he was permanently ineligible to compete in college football. Sorsby’s appeal of that decision was dismissed with prejudice on June 18, effectively ending his pursuit of a return to college football.

Amid the weeks-long legal battle and significant public outrage over his college eligibility, Sorsby announced June 15 that he intended to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft instead. The NFL subsequently said it would not hold a supplemental draft in 2026, leaving Sorsby with limited viable options for this season.

In its statement rejecting Sorsby’s supplemental draft plans, the NFL said it would “encourage you to focus on preparing for possible entry into the NFL through the 2027 NFL Annual Draft” instead. Sorsby’s legal team told The Athletic at the time that the NFL’s decision was a violation of the collective bargaining agreement and that he would “bring this to the (NFL Players Association).”

Texas Tech Board of Regents chair and megabooster Cody Campbell wrote in a June 15 statement that Texas Tech would continue offering Sorsby recovery resources and would not seek to recoup any money Sorsby has made through NIL agreements since transferring to Texas Tech.

Sorsby has admitted to wagering at least $90,000 on more than 9,000 bets over the course of his college career, with stops at Indiana and Cincinnati before Texas Tech. His wagers included betting on Indiana football while he was on the team, though not in games he played in, as well as betting on Indiana and Cincinnati men’s basketball games, also in violation of NCAA rules.

A judge in Lubbock County, Texas, granted Sorsby an injunction earlier this month that would have allowed him to play the 2026 college football season after serving a two-game suspension. However, the NCAA and the Big 12 each submitted court filings challenging Sorsby’s eligibility. The judge’s decision also prompted Nebraska and Georgia to instruct their coaches not to schedule Texas Tech in any sport, and the Big Ten considered, but did not institute, a leaguewide ban. Ultimately, Sorsby chose to pursue the NFL route instead.

With Sorsby’s avenues back to college football or a 2026 NFL debut now blocked, his immediate options appear limited to a potential UFL bid. League co-owner Mike Repole has publicly invited Sorsby to join the spring football league, but Sorsby has not commented on whether he is considering the offer.