American legend Serena Williams is to make a stunning return to singles tennis, attempting to reclaim her Wimbledon title at the age of 44, nearly four years since her last match at the US Open.
Seven-times champion Williams was handed the final women's singles wildcard by the All England Club on Sunday evening (Monday AEST) in a wholly unexpected development.
The woman considered perhaps the greatest player of all-time had already been assured of a shock return to the championships for the first time in four years by accepting a doubles wildcard to play alongside elder sister, 46-year-old Venus Williams.
But the singles news came quite out of the blue, with Wimbledon declaring on its Instagram account: "This is not a drill."
