Did Serena Williams retire? Why is she not playing at Wimbledon 2023? Career and grand slams record | Sporting News (2024)

Tennis icon Serena Williams is one of the most successful Wimbledon players of all time, winning seven titles and competing in finals over a near 20-year period.

Williams was just 20 when she won her first title at the All England Club in 2002, beating her older sister Venus in the final and going through the entire tournament without losing a single set. She went on to win the competition again the next year in 2003, and then again in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016 and also lost in finals in 2004, 2008 (to her sister Venus) and more recently in 2018 and 2019.

Now 41, Williams has moved away from playing. In 2022, she Williams that she was "evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me" such as her young daughter who was born in 2017.

The Sporting News runs through Williams' career and her Wimbledon record here.

MORE: Serena Williams' net worth

Is Serena Williams playing at the Wimbledon 2023?

Williams is not playing at Wimbledon in 2023. Her absence will mean it's only the second year in which she will not compete in the tournament (barring 2020 when it was cancelled due to Covid-19) since 2006. She was also absent in 2017.

She competed in last year's Wimbledon but suffered a first-round defeat to Harmony Tan.

When did Serena Williams retire?

Williams said she was "evolving away from tennis" in an article in Vogue magazine in August 2022, leading fans to assume that her subsequent appearance at the US Open would serve as her retirement tournament.

However, she also said that she had "never liked the word retirement" – and at a press conference two months later, she called the chances of her returning to action "very high".

"I am not retired," said Williams, adding that not playing for a competition "felt really weird". "You can come to my house; I have a court."

This will be the first Wimbledon Championships since 1997 that will not feature either Serena Williams or Roger Federer! 😲#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/QdG2dqgH08

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— betway (@betway) June 30, 2023

In February 2023, Williams said she was "at peace" with her decision and "leaning in" to her commitment to family life which she said had been the primary motive for her inactivity from tennis.

"I'm like, 'oh my goodness. I gotta get out there'," she added to E News. "But it's hard for me to get out there. I did play the other day, and it's just like, 'there's no way I shouldn't be playing professional tennis'. There's literally no excuse.

"But I mean, I guess there is an excuse, right? It's hard because when I'm playing I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm pretty good at this. I can continue to do this,' which not a lot of people can say."

Serena Williams Wimbledon record

Serena Williams has won seven Ladies' Singles titles at Wimbledon, she's been a beaten finalist on four occasions and she's also won six Wimbledon doubles titles with her sister Venus as well.

She's the joint second most successful female player at Wimbledon in the open era, level on seven with Steffi Graf. Martina Navratilova, with nine titles, is top of that list.

Serena Williams grand slam history

Williams has won 23 grand slam titles, which is the most of any player in the open era. Magaret Court won 24 titles, straddling before and after the start of the open era (in 1968). Serena also played in 10 finals in which she didn't win.

Singles finals

Doubles finals

All doubles partnered with Venus Williams