Serena Williams’ Wimbledon practice took a delightful turn as the former World No. 1 and 23-time singles major champion was informed of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s move to Miami Heat. Antetokounmpo, the 31-year-old Nigerian-Greek NBA icon, happens to be a close friend of Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian, the Reddit co-founder.
In a video shared by Wimbledon on Instagram, the American tennis legend could be seen finding out about Antetokounmpo’s move to Miami Heat from Milwaukee Bucks. Delighted by the development, Williams, who recently made a sensational comeback to professional tennis, screamed out in joy:
Thanks for the submission!
“No way! Yes! Are you serious?”
She later added:
“Oh, that’s so good! Finally I can go to the games again. Oh, that’s huge! Oh that just made my day.”
Watch the heartwarming moment below:
Antetokounmpo was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks back in the 2013 NBA draft, and the Athens-born basketball star seized the opportunity to shine in spectacular style. The Nigerian-Greek icon was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2017 and also bagged the Most Valuable Player awards in 2019 and 2020. In 2021, he became an NBA champion as well as the Finals MVP. Antetokounmpo is also a 10-time NBA All-Star.
Meanwhile, Serena Williams is preparing to make her comeback to singles action at this year’s Wimbledon Championships as a wild card. Williams has already returned to doubles action and played two tournaments ahead of the grass major; the Queen’s Club Championships and the Berlin Open. She is set to reunite with sister Venus for playing doubles at Wimbledon, a tournament she has won 14 times in singles and doubles combined.
“It’s very Serena Williams-like to do something audacious like this” – Patrick McEnroe on WTA legend’s upcoming singles comeback at Wimbledon 2026
While commentating for ESPN, Patrick McEnroe, former ATP No. 1 John McEnroe’s brother, touched on Serena Williams accepting the 2026 Wimbledon Championships’ singles wildcard, saying:
“I would call this Serena being Serena. It’s very Serena-like to do something audacious like this and I didn’t think for one minute she was coming back to play doubles (only).”
Williams’ most recent competitive singles campaign was at the 2022 US Open, where she reached the third round before falling to a three-set loss to Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia. The American bid an emotional farewell to tennis soon after the result.
Since her return to the sport, Williams won her first-round doubles match at the Queen’s Club Championships partnering Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko. Unfortunately, Williams and Mboko’s campaign was dashed by a horror injury the latter suffered in singles action. Next, the American paired up with Karolina Muchova for the Berlin Open. Here, the duo was ousted in the first round.
Edited by Sudipto Pati
