Aussie qualifier Maya Joint to face childhood idol Serena Williams at Wimbledon

Australian youngster Maya Joint, ranked No. 53, faces the challenge of her career as she takes on seven-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams in the first round. With only a small support team in her corner, the 20-year-old hopes to seize the opportunity against her idol, who is making a singles comeback at age 44.

London: Maya Joint’s cheering section at Wimbledon for her match of a lifetime against Serena Williams will be small.

The Michigan-born Aussie said she’ll have her tennis coach, fitness coach, agent and … her mom. That might be it.

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Joint, 20, was drawn to face the seven-time Wimbledon champion in the first round and knows she’ll need to tune out what likely will be a stadium — probably Centre Court — full of fans hoping to see the 44-year-old Williams launch a successful singles comeback.

“I’m expecting big serves and big forehands,” Joint said. “I’m expecting shorter rallies, just from how hard she hits the ball. I’ll have to be really ready for the first couple of games, try and get a good start to maybe catch her off guard a little bit.”

Big moment for Joint

Her record in Grand Slams is two wins, seven losses with both victories coming at the U.S. Open. Meanwhile, Williams won seven major titles — completing a career Grand Slam in the process — before Joint was born in 2006.

“I have so much respect for her. She was one of my idols growing up, I’m just really excited to have the opportunity to play against her,” Joint said.

As a qualifier at Flushing Meadows in 2024, Joint beat Laura Siegemund before losing to Madison Keys.

Joint said the match against Keys in Arthur Ashe Stadium gave her a flavor of what’s to come at Wimbledon.

“When I saw that she got a wild card to get back into singles, there was always a part of me wanted to experience playing against her,” Joint said.

Ranked No. 53, she made her Wimbledon debut last year, losing in the first round.

A favorable draw for SerenaWilliams could have been drawn with any top player on tour, but in Joint she’ll face an opponent who has struggled for much of 2026. At one point Joint lost 10 consecutive matches before a first-round victory at a clay-court WTA 125 event in Croatia this month.

The young player, who represents Australia through her father, sees an opportunity.

“Any match is winnable. I’ve gotten a lot closer in my past couple matches, I’ve been getting closer in the score,” she said. “Serena is still an amazing player, so I’m sure it’s going to be a difficult match but I also think that I have a chance to win.”