Who Is Maya Joint? 20-Year-Old Halts Serena Williams’ Wimbledon Comeback

Maya Joint ended an 11-match losing streak in the most improbable setting imaginable, on Centre Court at Wimbledon, in front of a crowd chanting for Serena Williams. And all she did was beat Serena Williams, ending the comeback bid of the 23-time Grand Slam champion.

The 20-year-old Australian, ranked No. 87 in the world, defeated Williams 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3 on Tuesday in the first round, ending the 44-year-old’s comeback bid in her first professional singles match in nearly four years.

Joint Stuns Serena in Wimbledon First-Round Thriller

Williams, a seven-time Wimbledon champion and 23-time Grand Slam winner, received a wild card to play after announcing her return to the sport earlier this month. She had last competed professionally at the 2022 US Open. Her younger daughter, Adira — born in 2023, attending her first match — was among the family members on hand for the walk-out, as was husband Alexis Ohanian, daughter Olympia, and sister Venus Williams.

The match ran two hours and 22 minutes. Williams showed power throughout with seven aces, multiple serves topping 120 mph, and she fought back fiercely in the second set, winning a tiebreak to level the match and send Centre Court into a frenzy. It marked her 100th third-set match at a major. She had won 71 of those.

But Joint was not rattled. After Williams broke in the third game of the deciding set and briefly looked in control, Joint reeled off four straight games to take command. A nervous double fault squandered her first match point. She converted the third when Williams’ forehand sailed long.

Joint hit 40 winners to Williams’ 26. Both players committed 37 unforced errors, according to ESPN statistics. It was the first time since 2009 that Williams had entered a Wimbledon singles match as the betting underdog.

Maya Joint’s Rise to This Wimbledon Moment

Joint was born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, to an Australian father, former professional squash player Mick Joint. Her German mother competed in squash, tennis, and badminton. The family relocated to Melbourne and Joint holds dual U.S. and Australian citizenship. She chose to represent Australia after moving to Brisbane in mid-2023 to train at Tennis Australia’s National Tennis Academy.

Joint turned professional in late 2024, setting aside her commitment to play at the University of Texas. Her breakthrough came in 2025, when she won two WTA Tour singles titles, on clay in Rabat and on grass in Eastbourne, the latter after saving four match points. She reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 28 in February 2026 before a rough patch dropped her to No. 87 entering Wimbledon.

When she heard Williams was her first-round draw, she initially thought her coach was playing a prank on her.

“I didn’t get much sleep last night,” Joint said on court after the match. “I was up until 2 a.m. just thinking about it. She has such an aura. She’s a legend and this court has so many huge names that have played on it. I’ve been dreaming about this since I was a little kid, so this is amazing,” as quoted by ESPN‘s D’Arcy Maine.

Williams, who did not speak to the media after the loss, issued a statement saying the experience had been worth every moment. “The atmosphere was amazing. Walking out was amazing,” she said. “I definitely relished it and missed it and enjoyed the moment more than anything.”

Joint advances to the second round, where she will face No. 29 seed Alexandra Eala on Thursday. Williams remains in the draw in doubles, where she will partner with Venus against Solana Sierra and Camila Osorio.

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