At 44 years old, Serena Williams is playing her first match since the US Open in 2022, and she'll take on Maya Joint in the first round of Wimbledon on Tuesday.
Williams (+124) is the underdog at the time of writing, and prediction markets are all over the legend.
Find my Wimbledon preview and Williams vs Joint prediction for Tuesday below.
Serena Williams vs Maya Joint Player Prediction
- Williams vs Joint Pick: Serena Williams +3.5 Alt Spread (-150, DraftKings)
My Williams vs Joint best bet is on Williams to cover the +3.5 alternate spread. Make sure to find the best odds by checking our live Wimbledon odds page.
Williams vs Joint Odds
| Serena Williams Odds | +124 |
| Maya Joint Odds | -229 |
| Spread | Williams +2.5 (-115), Joint -2.5 (-125) |
| Over/Under | 20.5 (-130o / -110u) |
| Williams-Joint H2H | 0-0 |
| Time | How to Watch | Tuesday, Approx. 12 p.m. ET | ESPN Unlmtd |
| Odds via DraftKings | |
Williams vs Joint Preview, Prediction
by Tudor Cosma
Serena Williams Betting Preview
Serena Williams is a 44-year-old American who's unranked. Williams is returning to tennis after a break of about four years, with her last singles match coming in 2022 at the US Open when she was eliminated in the third round by Ajla Tomljanovic.
This return to tennis is the most important storyline of the tennis season.
The fact that the legendary Williams is playing tennis again can be interpreted in different ways, though.
I've heard criticism, including from analysts, who say that it's more of a marketing stunt than a real return to the sport. Also, I've heard people who say that Williams can no longer think about trophies at this age, so her journey will be short.
But, in the end, I think it's about Williams' love for the game. She may also be inspired by her older sister, who's still evolving, and Williams may have wanted to accept this challenge to see what she can achieve in front of athletes 20 years younger.
Williams is rightly considered the greatest tennis player of all time. She has 23 Grand Slam trophies, the most on the women's circuit in the Open Era.
She's the only player in history to simultaneously hold all four Grand Slam trophies in both singles and doubles, spending 319 weeks at No. 1 in the WTA hierarchy.
We know how great of a champion Williams is. We know how motivated she was and how strong she was mentally. She's playing on her favorite surface in a tournament that she's won seven times — even though the last time was 10 years ago.
Since then, she's played two finals, losing both. In the last editions of Wimbledon she participated in — 2021 and 2022 — she didn't even get past the first round.
Will she have an equally short journey, or will Williams impress the tennis world again, reaching far in the competition? One thing is certain: this match is more anticipated than any other match of the season, and Williams will make history by stepping on the London grass again.
Maya Joint Betting Preview
Maya Joint is a 20-year-old Australian who's ranked 53rd in the WTA rankings.
At the beginning of the season, Joint couldn't have imagined that she would be involved in such a historic match against the best tennis player of all time.
She could've thought about very complicated matches with Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina or Coco Gauff, which she would've probably approached relaxed, knowing that she had little chance of prevailing.
However, such a match with a legendary athlete — and one with historic stakes — will put a lot of pressure on her. She's the favorite, which is expected considering that her opponent is a veteran who hasn't played for four years.
But, at the same time, she's not a large favorite, and this match will be difficult to approach mentally.
Her advantage is her youth, so I think she can be excited about the opportunity while trying to pick up the pace of the match on Centre Court.
Moreover, considering that the match will have a huge audience, she can become a well-known name in world tennis. She's not irrelevant considering that she's close to the WTA top 50. However, Joint hasn't impressed and doesn't have a high popularity on the world stage.
Her media coverage has been limited, but everything changed starting from the draw.
She's not tall, but she seems quite strong to me, and has a game well adapted to fast courts.
Last season was average for Joint. She had semifinal berths in Hobart and at WTA 125K Cancun, a title in Rabat and a trophy on grass at Eastbourne, where she beat Ons Jabeur, Emma Raducanu and Alexandra Eala.
This new season has been very weak for Joint. She has only one quarterfinal, and she's dropped 13 of her last 14 matches.
In fact, in the last five months, she's won only one match. She recently played on grass at Eastbourne, where she was defeated 6-7, 4-6 by Emiliana Arango.
Williams vs Joint Predictions, Betting Analysis
Williams is the greatest women's tennis player of all time, and an exceptional athlete on grass. However, after a four-year break and at 44 years old, we can't know exactly how she'll perform. Everything is speculation.
Even so, I don't think that Williams would've returned to tennis if she didn't believe in her game and in her ability to win. I don't think that she would've returned to tennis if she didn't feel that she could still win matches.
And I don't think that she would've returned to tennis without preparing at a high level.
Joint isn't a weak opponent, but she's in terrible form (only one victory in the last five months). On grass, she lost both matches played this season (against Yuliia Starodubtseva and Arango), and on Tuesday, she'll be pressured by the importance of this match.
I believe that Williams won't lose by four or more games.
Pick: Serena Williams +3.5 Alt Spread (-150, DraftKings)
