LONDON, June 25(ABC): Serena Williams has been drawn to face French debutant Harmony Tan in the first round of Wimbledon as the American star returns to singles action after a year away.
Defending men s champion Novak Djokovic begins his quest for a seventh title — and fourth in a row — against South Korea s Kwon Soon-woo, ranked 75th in the world.
The early focus at the All England Club will be on 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Williams, who has dropped to 1,204th in the world rankings and is unseeded for the tournament, which starts on Monday.
The 40-year-old, who took part in the doubles in Eastbourne this week, has not played singles since she suffered an injury during her first-round match at Wimbledon 12 months ago.
Williams s preparations for the Grand Slam suffered a blow after her doubles partner Ons Jabeur withdrew from the Eastbourne tournament because of a knee injury on Thursday.
The American won the last of her seven Wimbledon singles titles in 2016 but reached the final in 2018 and 2019 after returning from having a baby.
Wimbledon is widely considered Williams s best chance of claiming a 24th Grand Slam singles crown to equal Margaret Court s all-time record.
The last of her Grand Slam singles titles came at the Australian Open in 2017.
Speaking after Wednesday s doubles match, Williams had said: “I feel good — as good as one can feel after having such a long time off.”