Serena Williams and Venus Williams doubles wildcard met with intrigue with singles involvement at Wimbledon questioned: "I’d be a little surprised if Serena took a singles wildcard"

Serena Williams and Venus Williams are set to compete together once more at Wimbledon in the women's doubles after being handed a wildcard to compete. It has got the tennis world very excited and exhilarated for what is set to be a special reunion at SW19.

On the Tennis Channel, former Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins could not contain her excitement. "Oh, I mean, so many of my childhood tennis memories are watching Venus and Serena growing up on TV," she commented. "To see them back out on the courts almost 20 or 25 years later is just crazy."

The pair have reached 14 Grand Slam finals together, and won all 14. Six of them came at Wimbledon where they both enjoyed singles success as well. While Serena has won it seven times, Venus has clinched glory on grass in five separate occasions.

They are two legends of the sport with excitement brewing when both of them compete. Serena made her official comeback to action following a highly anticipated period with rumours swirling. She got back on the court on grass at Queen's where she competed at Queen's alongside Victoria Mboko before travelling to the Berlin Ladies Open to team up with Karolina Muchova. Wimbledon is the next aim, and it is set to be a brilliant spectacle.

Sam Querrey was not at all surprised they were handed a wildcard with the question finally answered surrounding who she would be playing with. "No surprise they got a wild card. We’ve been hearing the Serena rumours for about three weeks now, so I’m not surprised. I’m excited," he said.

"The story over the last few days has been that Serena was obviously going to get a doubles wild card, but the question was: who was she going to play with? The fact that it’s Venus makes it even more special and more interesting for everyone."

Despite not playing much regularly, Collins shrugged that handicap off. "I’m a little bummed that they’re not going to play a warm-up tournament beforehand, just so we could get a sneak peek of what it’s going to look like all these years later.

"But they’re sisters. They know each other so well. There’s an intuitiveness when they play together—they know each other’s tendencies, they’ve known each other their whole lives, and they’re best friends. I think they’ll be able to make adjustments very easily, even though they haven’t been playing together regularly."

The extent of their success is ridiculous in both singles and doubles. "People forget about that. You go to Wikipedia and look at all the singles titles, then you scroll down and there are another 20 doubles and mixed doubles titles. Their accomplishments in doubles are incredible," Querrey admitted.

Another notable factor is that there is one spot left in the singles wildcard selection. Roland Garros finalist Maja Chwalinska was the only Brit not on this list, but that could change if a late wildcard is handed to Serena.

"That could very well be the case. We’ll find out," Collins stated. "I’d be a little surprised if Serena took a singles wild card. Based on some of her recent press conferences, she’s said that if she wanted to play singles she would need to train more. I think what she’s doing now makes sense—playing some doubles matches and then seeing where things go. You never know, though. She can do anything because she’s the GOAT."

Querrey believed that Wimbledon were holding out for her to give the green light before moving onto different targets. "Until Serena gives a definitive “no” to the All England Club—and maybe she has, maybe she hasn’t—you keep that wild card available for as long as possible," he said. "If she says no, you ask again. If she says no again, you ask if she’s absolutely sure. You do everything you can to make sure that spot is available if she wants it."

If Serena does not take it, then there is still another Williams sister who could fit the bill perfectly. "Possibly. I don’t know who else is in the running, but Venus would obviously be very high on the list," Collins analysed. "She hasn’t been playing much lately herself, but we’ll see. If Serena doesn’t get it, Venus is probably the next person you’d want to give it to."

Away from the Williams sisters, there are a whole load more story lines from the wildcards selected. 2025 Roland Garros semi-finalist Lois Boisson again has not been handed a wildcard. The Frenchwoman has suffered with injuries in recent times and is still trying to find her feet on court. She will have to come through qualifying, whereas Chwalinska can put her feet up ready for a Wimbledon return.

Querrey agreed wholeheartedly with this decision with Chwalinska definitely deserving of a wildcard. "I think because she made the final of Roland-Garros, she’s into the main draw. If she had lost in the semifinals, similar to what happened with other players in previous years, maybe she doesn’t get a wild card. But for Chwalinska, I think it’s well deserved. I’m excited to see how her game translates to grass."

Collins fully agreed with her colleague. "It’s absolutely well deserved. Like we talked about yesterday, if you make the final of a Grand Slam and you’re not already in the entry list for the next major, you should automatically get some type of direct acceptance.

"I almost think the ranking cutoff between Roland-Garros and Wimbledon should be three weeks instead of six. These are the only two majors where the turnaround is so short, so players can make a huge run at Roland-Garros after the Wimbledon entry cutoff has already passed. They did the right thing. They gave her the wild card."

On the men's side, Grigor Dimitrov is handed another chance. Leading Jannik Sinner 2-0 last year, a pectoral muscle injury cruelly cut short his Wimbledon campaign as the eventual champion survived a huge scare. "I’m glad Dimitrov got a wild card. Last year he was leading Jannik Sinner by two sets to love when he tore his pectoral muscle. That’s still a big 'what if?' match for me," Querrey reminisced.

"He’s been slowly coming back over the last few months and hasn’t played his best tennis, but Wimbledon has rewarded someone who’s been a staple there for more than a decade and has a semifinal on his résumé."

Stan Wawrinka was also the other non-British player to get a wildcard. The three-time major champion is competing in his final year on tour with this set to be his last ever time competing at Wimbledon. "As for Stan Wawrinka, Wimbledon is the one major he hasn’t won," Querrey continued. "If he somehow got it done this year, it would be incredible. At the very least, I’m glad he’s got a wild card."

In Collins mind, these decisions were very simple. "I think both of those decisions were no-brainers considering what they’ve achieved throughout their careers. I’m not surprised Wimbledon handed wild cards to either of them. And yes, it would be pretty cool to see Stan win Wimbledon. It might be difficult with the rest of the field, but we’d love to see it."