Maya Joint: Craziest Moment of My Life

By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Photo credit: Shaun Brooks/CameraSport

Wimbledon—Facing Serena Williams on Centre Court can be daunting.

Standing in the shadow of the legend before even stepping out onto the game’s most prestigious court was “the craziest moment of my life,” Australian Maya Joint said after her 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3 victory Wimbledon firrst-round win over Williams on Tuesday night.

“When we were in that hallway before we walked out into Centre Court, that was the craziest moment of my life,” Joint told the media. “Yeah, just watching all the greats and the legends do that, for me to do that as well was just insane.”

While it struck some as crazy that the 44-year-old Williams would accept a singles wild card three years and nine months after her last singles match, a 2022 US Open loss to Aussie Ajla Tomljanovic, the mother of two daughter showed flashes of form while suffering a third consecutive Wimbledon opening-round exit.

Certainly, the seven-time Wimbledon singles champion did not cover the court as quickly or as comprehensively as she did during her peak years. In fact, Joint repeatedly stretched Williams wide then beat her with down the line drives.

Still, Williams showed her familiar fighting spirit, fending off a match point at 5-6 in the tiebreaker cracking a big serve than slamming a forehand winner down the line that sparked a three-point surge to snatch the second set.

Ultimately, the 20-year-old moved quicker around the court, changed direction down the line more effectively and played more offensive tennis than the former No. 1. Joint hit 40 winners—14 more than Williams and out-aced arguably the greatest server in WTA history, 10 to 7.

In an interesting tactical approach, Williams was willing to play longer rallies against an opponent 24 years younger. The Williams return, one of her most dangerous weapons, was not firing with regularity as Joint won 50 percent of her second-serve points and sometimes jammed up the icon banging body serves.

Though she fought fiercely, Williams, who blew off the mandatory, post-match presser, did not seem satisfied with the result, dropping to 98-15 lifetime at SW19.

‘It was really great to be back at Wimbledon. I never expected to be here,” Serena Williams said in a statement issued by the tournament. “The atmosphere was amazing. Walking out was amazing. I definitely relished it and missed it and enjoyed the moment more than anything.”

World No. 53 Joint reached the Adelaide quarterfinals in January. Since then, Joint had lost in the first round in 10 of her last 11 tournaments. Joint lost her Wimbledon opener last year to Liudmila Samsonova and was 1-13 in her last 14 matches this season, but she kept calm and continued swinging away even under third-set stress to subdue the legend.

“I think this year has been pretty tough, I think result-wise, especially,” Joint said. “I think in my last
couple of matches, I have been bringing my best game.

“And even though I didn’t win a lot, I think I still had the confidence that I could win. I mean, yeah, if you’re playing Serena, you have nothing to lose. It makes sense that people play their best game against her.”

Joint, who scored her first Wimbledon win, will face left-handed Filipina Alexandra Eala in round two.

The 29th-seeded Eala crushed Mexico’s Renata Zarazua 6-1, 6-2 on No. 12 court.

In their lone career clash, Joint fought off Eala 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(10) in the 2025 Eastbourne final on grass.

“I’m surprised we haven’t played each other since,” Joint said. “We have been in pretty much all the
same tournaments. We had an amazing, epic match last time we played in Eastbourne. I’m expecting the same kind of match this time, and yeah, I’m really excited. I think it’s going to be really fun.”