Serena Williams returned to competitive singles action on Tuesday amid huge fanfare after a four-year absence but the American icon could not overcome the first hurdle at Wimbledon and was beaten 6-3 6-7(6) 6-3 by Australian Maya Joint.
The 44-year-old wildcard was denied the chance to become the oldest woman to claim a singles match victory at the All England Club since Martina Navratilova in 2004, but she said she was delighted with the reception she got from adoring fans.
“It was really great to be back at Wimbledon,” she said.
“I never expected to be here. The atmosphere was amazing. Walking out was amazing. I definitely relished it and missed it and enjoyed the moment more than anything.”
Joint, who was not even born when Williams won the first seven of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles, blocked out all the noise surrounding her opponent’s much-awaited return to claim the biggest victory of her career on Centre Court.
