Jo EllisonJul 5, 2026 – 4.00pm”I definitely have a lot of experience on my side, and I have a lot of championships . . . I don’t feel the pressure to do anything except for have fun and enjoy myself, and enjoy the moment.”So spoke Serena Williams shortly before walking out on to Wimbledon’s Centre Court. Her return to the tournament, aged 44, and four years after having announced she was “evolving away” from the sport in which she claimed 23 Grand Slam singles titles, was always going to be a fairytale.Financial TimesSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles
How to quit like a winner
Serena Williams’s joyful, and potentially lucrative, comeback offered a striking contrast to the gloomy retirement of cricketer Ben Stokes.











