Tennis legend Serena Williams made her long-awaited return to Wimbledon on Tuesday21:43, 30 Jun 2026Wimbledon spectators were left frustrated during Serena Williams' opening match at this year's Championships.‌The 2026 tournament is now well underway, with lots of thrilling action already taking place.‌World Number One Jannik Sinner and seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic both progressed to the second round on Monday (June 29) following hard-fought victories, while Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff also claimed wins in their opening matches.‌All attention turned to Centre Court on Tuesday (June 30) as Serena Williams made her highly anticipated comeback to the sport.The 44-year-old faced Maya Joint in her first singles match since the 2022 US Open, having only returned to competitive tennis earlier this month with just two doubles appearances under her belt, reports the Express.‌The 23-time Grand Slam champion had previously acknowledged she would be "nervous" ahead of her long-awaited return, adding that she would have "no expectations" going up against the 20-year-old Australian.Maya showed no signs of being overawed by the occasion, with the young Aussie claiming the opening set and repeatedly breaking Serena's serve throughout the contest.Despite this, BBC viewers took issue with the commentary team — Nick Mullins, John McEnroe, and Tracy Austin — feeling they devoted the vast majority of their airtime to heaping praise on Serena, which many considered deeply unfair on her opponent.‌"I don't think the BBC commentary team are being very fair to Maya Joint considering she has just won the first set. Every time Serena hits the ball they seem to be anticipating a winning shot," one person wrote on X (formerly Twitter).Another added: "It's fun to see Serena Williams back at Wimbledon but the BBC commentators are awful. Every other sentence tells us how long it's been and bigging her up."‌A third said: "Detecting that BBC bias creeping in here. Big praise for William's winning points, none for the Australian," while another noted: "No critique of Serena's game by BBC commentators."A fifth viewer echoed the frustration, saying: "The constant fawning over Williams is starting to grate," with yet another chiming in: "Is anyone else getting sick and tired of the constant regurgitation of the facts and figures of Serena Williams by the commentators? Good lord, I think I know her entire career by now."As the match progressed, the commentary team acknowledged just how significant this occasion would be for Detroit-born Maya, with Tracy remarking: "This has got to feel so amazing for Maya Joint. [She's] been ranked as high as 28 in the world earlier this year."Article continues belowNick also revealed that dedicated fans had begun queuing outside the All England Club a full two days before the match, all hoping to witness Serena's highly anticipated return to Wimbledon.Coverage of Wimbledon 2026 airs on BBC One and BBC Two and is available to stream on BBC iPlayer