No preparation, no singles events for years, no warm-up matches, and direct entry into Wimbledon through the wildcard route is how Serena Williams chose to make her return, and Andy Roddick could not hide his thoughts about that.

The former world No. 1 and winner of the 2003 US Open, in his YouTube show, Served with Andy Roddick, said:

"Like, imagine being in Serena's brain where it's like, 'Oh no, it's going to be Wimbledon. I'm good enough. I can handle this. No problem.' That's levels of confidence that I didn't have for 12 seconds of my existence in my entire life," Roddick said on his YouTube show, Served with Andy Roddick.

Roddick's remarks came straight after the criticism Williams faced following her acceptance of a wildcard entry to the 2026 singles tournament at Wimbledon despite not playing any warm-up matches.

As a wildcard, she will have the opportunity to face anyone ranging from world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to a qualifying player in the first round.

In order to demonstrate how differently he might have handled the situation, Roddick was more elaborate on Served with Andy Roddick.

"Like I would have scheduled seven events, I would have started in the future in Branson, Missouri, next to a Chili's at a public park, hoping no one saw me. Like, if I had to, there's a progression of things. Am I good enough? Am I there?" Roddick added on Served with Andy Roddick.

This contrast drawn by Roddick is logical, considering the context in which Serena is now returning. She has claimed seven Wimbledon singles titles in 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015, and 2016. This places her second on the list behind Martina Navratilova, who holds nine titles in this era.

Williams' last Wimbledon tournament was played in 2022, when she lost to Harmony Tan in the third round of the singles competition at Wimbledon on June 28, 2022 on Centre Court of the All England Club. Unseeded Williams lost the match in three sets, 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) in three hours and ten minutes.

Williams hasn't had to wait until the start of the tournament to make her presence known at SW19.

Serena Williams Turns Heads at Wimbledon Ahead of Singles and Doubles Campaigns

World No. 5 in men's singles Ben Shelton paused mid-practice in order to observe the practice routine of Serena Williams, and this is one telling detail regarding the amount of attention that she draws even before a match starts.

Williams got back into professional tennis by participating in the Queen’s Club Championships along with Victoria Mboko. Both Williams and Mboko beat the No. 3 seed players, Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez, in the first round of Queen’s Club before an injury to Mboko’s knee stopped them.

Williams also played with Karolína Muchová at the Berlin Tennis Open; however, they both lost in the first round.

She also met up with Stan Wawrinka at SW19, where both seemed to be in high spirits during their reunion. Wawrinka is making his last tour of the year, bringing a new twist to this season's farewell stories.

With the women's draw scheduled to be released on June 26 and singles first round matches starting on June 29, Williams is getting ready for what could arguably be her most complex Wimbledon campaign ever.

Do you think Serena Williams can go far at Wimbledon in her singles comeback? Comment below.

Read More at Her Sports Nation!

Written by

Utsav Gupta

Edited by

Utsav Gupta