Serena LOSES on singles comeback, Swiatek defeats Townsend + Shelton UPSET in R1 | Wimbledon 2026

Serena’s back! The tennis legend made her long-awaited return to Wimbledon singles for the first time in four years, but her comeback ended in a gripping three seat defeat to Australian Maya Joint. We analyse Serena’s performance, discuss whether the wildcard was justified and ask what comes next as she turns her attention to doubles with sister Venus. Elsewhere, defending champion Iga Swiatek survived a major first round scare against Taylor Townsend to keep her title defence alive at the first hurdle, whilst Ben Shelton became the biggest casualty of the tournament so far after blowing a match point against Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen. We also react to Taylor Fritz’s headline-grabbing Roger Federer inspired Wimbledon walk-on outfit and celebrate finally some joy for the Brits headlined by Katie Swan’e emotional first Wimbledon singles win since 2018 and… Arthur Fery’s earplugs. Plus, we look ahead to Day 3 where Novak Djokovic returns to face Stefanos Tsitsipas and current Roland Garros champion Mirra Andreeva faces off in an intriguing battle against former Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova. BABOLAT Babolat are an official partner of Wimbledon and their Wimbledon collaboration collection is available to purchase now from babolat.com SOCIALS Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, plus email the show [email protected]. MERCH Purchase Tennis Weekly Merch through our Etsy store including limited edition designs by Krippa Design where all proceeds go towards the podcast so we can keep doing what we do! REVIEWS **Please take a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your pods. It really means a lot to us at HQ and helps make it easier for new listeners to discover us. Thanks!** 00:00 - Maya Joint interview 02:01 - AD Babolat 03:10 - Tennis Weekly HQ in Putney 04:46 - More British defeats on Day 2 07:11 - Serena Williams defeated by Maya Joint 16:15 - Iga Swiatek wins on return 18:20 - Iga Swiatek on opening Centre Court 18:46 - Swiatek's tough draw 20:49 - Rybakina through, Svtiolina + Tauson out 24:15 - Arthur Fery wearing earplugs on court 26:25 - Should withdrawals keep prize money 29:31 - Ben Shelton out 34:00 - Taylor Fritz walk-on outfit 38:10 - Goodybe Wawrinka 42:25 - Day 3 Preview