The big question surrounding Serena Williams as key date looms

(Getty/Paul Harding)

For Serena Williams and her legion of fans all over the world, June 17 is D-Day. That's the day everyone will find out whether she has been given a wildcard into this year's Wimbledon, which begins on June 29.

After making an impressive comeback in the HSBC Championships, albeit in just one doubles match as it turned out, it seems inevitable that the 44-year-old will be on the list.

The big question now is whether that will be just in doubles or whether she will dip her toes back into the singles arena. As a 23-time Grand Slam champion and a sporting icon, the All England Club will surely give her whatever she wants. She's a seven-time champion and would deserve one, of course.

Will she return in singles, though? The temptation will be there, for sure. When she finally announced her comeback, after many denials and much teasing, Andy Roddick, a good friend of Serena's, was among those who suggested that "I don't think Serena comes back only for singles". Lindsay Davenport said the same thing, chatting to reporters at Roland Garros last week.

Serena is capable of anything, even at 44. She's shown that numerous times in her career, and she's never more motivated than when someone says she can't do something. But seeing her doubles partner at Queen's, Victoria Mboko, slip on the grass and hurt her knee (Mboko will also miss Wimbledon) might just have given her pause for thought. She knows that feeling, having suffered a hamstring injury at Wimbledon in 2021.

Listen to The First Serve Live every Monday at 8pm AEST in its 18th year on the SEN Network/App, Australia's only dedicated weekly tennis program on commercial radio running through till the end of November.

There is also a massive difference between playing singles and doubles, something she admitted in her pre-tournament press conference when she said: "I probably need to train a bit more if I want to play singles." For all the dynamism doubles requires, covering half the court is obviously a lot easier than playing singles.

And let's not forget, Serena turns 45 in September. It's asking an awful lot for her to be competitive, even if players are staying in the game and staying at the top for much longer than in the past. Martina Navratilova was 47 when she returned to Grand Slam singles, briefly, losing in the first round at Roland Garros before winning a round at Wimbledon. Navratilova had long been back on the doubles court, though, and went on to win her last major doubles title when she partnered Bob Bryan to win the US Open mixed doubles at the age of 49 in 2006.

But the sport is more physical than ever, and as impressive as Serena was at Queen's, especially on serve, it seems more likely that she will play doubles (and maybe mixed) at Wimbledon and then perhaps try singles on the hard courts in the United States later this summer. With a surer footing, she could test her movement with a little more security.

There's no question that Serena's return is an exciting moment for tennis. A packed crowd saw her comeback match at Queen's, and every TV network, newspaper, online outlet, podcaster and magazine has been keen to get a piece of Serena. Wimbledon, if she plays, will be something else.

There's another side to Serena's return, as well. It won't have escaped anyone's notice that she's in great shape. Having struggled with her weight after the birth of her first child in 2017, and in particular after her second child was born in 2023, she began thinking about weight-loss drugs.

According to Women's Health magazine, Serena first tried them in the summer of 2024 but was unsure and stopped. At the start of 2025, in conjunction with Ro, a company that includes her husband, Alexis Ohanian, as an investor and board member, she began to take Zepbound, a prescription weight loss drug containing tirzepatide. Used to combat diabetes and obesity, it suppresses appetite and regulates blood sugar levels.

Doing the TV rounds as part of her role as Ro ambassador, Serena explained her thought process, revealing that she had not been able to shake off the weight, no matter what she did.

"I looked at it as a sport," she told NBC's Today in August 2025. "As an opponent, like, OK, I can't beat this opponent no matter what I did, so I had to try something different. Tried something different, and it didn't work. I saw my friends doing it, a lot of people tried it, and it actually worked.

"I literally tried everything; running, walking, biking, stair climber, you name it, I did it. Even I felt like, OK, I don't want to do this because it is a shortcut, or it's a quick way out, but it actually isn't. There's something that I feel, personally, that my body was missing. After having two kids, I wasn't able to be at a weight that was healthy for me."

Serena says she has lost more than 30 pounds (more than 13 kilos), relieving pressure on her joints and allowing her to move much better. But weight-loss drugs are now coming under scrutiny, with questions asked as to whether professional sportsmen and women should be allowed to use them.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is monitoring the use of Semaglutide, which is used in Ozempic and Wegovy, two of the best-known brands. Drugs go on the WADA prohibited list if they satisfy any two of the following criteria: "it has the potential to enhance or enhances sport performance; it represents an actual or potential health risk to the athlete; it violates the spirit of sport."

According to a WADA spokesman, there is no strict timeline for any decision. WADA is also "closely following the scientific and medical literature addressing potential performance-enhancing effects, as well as any possible health risks of these substances," the spokesman said.

No one brings more attention than Serena Williams, and there's no doubt the sport is enjoying having her back. Ticket sales for the US Open, where there must be a good chance she would partner her sister, Venus Williams, who turns 46 on June 17, will doubtless go through the roof. Maybe Serena and Venus will also team up at Wimbledon.

We'll get a better idea of her plans in the coming days.

The legendary Kooyong Classic will be back 12-14^th January 2027 at the spiritual home of Australian tennis. Hospitality packages on sale now at www.kooyongclassic.com.au