For her return to Wimbledon, which she has won seven times, the American Serena Williams inherited a rather lenient first round in the draw made on Friday, since she will face the French Harmony Tan, 113th player in the world.
At 40 and after a year's hiatus since his retirement in 2021 in the same tournament, Williams has received an invitation from the organizers of the London Grand Slam.
The former world No.1, who has now fallen back beyond 1000th place due to her long absence, took part in the grass doubles tournament this week at Eatsbourne, where she spent two rounds with Ons Jabeur, before forfeit due to an injury to his Tunisian partner.
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Not yet very sharp, the youngest of the Williams sisters has lost none of her power and her aggressiveness, even if she seemed to lack a bit of speed on the move.
For Tan, 24, it will be an already unforgettable first appearance on the London turf, after his semi-final in Venice last week.
The seeded N.1, the Polish Iga Swiatek, will face the Croatian Jana Fett, passed by the qualifications.
She has in her half of the table the finalist of last year, the Czech Karolina Pliskova (N.7) whom she could therefore find in the semi-finals, while the defending champion, the Australian Ashleigh Barty took her retirement in March.