Joint's reaction upon learning he was playing against Serena Williams: "I thought my coach was pulling a joke on me"

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Who would have thought a month ago that Maya Joint would be playing on the Centre Court of Wimbledon against Serena Williams. Although she still can't believe it, the Australian will do so next Tuesday. The 23-time Grand Slam champion is returning after her retirement four years ago. While her initial tournaments were supposed to focus on doubles, the organization of the London Grand Slam last-minute granted her an invitation to participate in the main draw, with Joint being her first opponent.

Maya Joint reveals how she found out she was going to play against Serena Williams at Wimbledon 2026

The Australian, ranked 87th in the WTA, will have to cope not only with the American but also with all the anticipation generated by the return of the seven-time Wimbledon champion to Centre Court. Additionally, during her Media Day, she shared how she discovered that Serena Williams would be her first opponent at Wimbledon.

"I was sitting down with my coach and I thought he was pranking me"

Maya Joint shares what it was like to learn she will launch her Wimbledon campaign against seven-time champion Serena Williams.

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"I was surprised, I was excited. I never thought I would get to play against her. She stopped playing when I was starting on the circuit, so yes, when I saw she received the invitation, I think there was a small part of me that always wanted to experience playing against her, and someone told me 10 years ago that I would play Serena Williams in the first round of Wimbledon, and I thought, that would be ridiculous. We were watching the draw ceremony in the car, but I was getting too nervous, so we turned it off, and then I was sitting with my coach and I thought he was pulling my leg because he told me, 'oh, you're going to play against Serena Williams.' I thought, no, you're kidding me, but then Sam Stoser messaged me saying I would play against Serena Williams. Okay, great. I think it's a 'pinch me' moment," concluded the Australian in statements collected by Stan Sports.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La reacción de Joint al enterarse que jugaba contra Serena Williams: "Pensé que mi entrenador me estaba gastando una broma"