Serena Williams caught Wimbledon chiefs on the hop by revealing her return to the Championships before the invites had formally gone out.
The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion has not played since retiring injured from her first round match in SW19 last year.
She is down to 1,208 in the world rankings, turned 40 last year and was missing from the women's singles entry list released by Wimbledon.
So it came as a bolt from the blue when she posted an image on Instagram showing her trainers on grass, captioned: "SW and SW19. It's a date. 2022, see you there.”
Wimbledon had not planned to name their wild cards until today but quickly brought that announcement forward to confirm the American’s involvement.
Williams, who still needs one more title to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record, will warm up in the doubles competition at Eastbourne next week, partnering Tunisia’s world No.4 Ons Jabeur.
She said: “I am excited to be back on the grass - a surface that has been so good to me throughout my career.
“Eastbourne has a unique charm that you don’t see anywhere else on Tour and I’m looking forward to playing in front of the fans again.”
