Serena Williams left her future in tennis open to question after her return to Wimbledon ended in a first-round defeat by little-known Frenchwoman Harmony Tan.
Stepping out to play singles for the first time since leaving Centre Court prematurely and in tears after suffering a hamstring injury in the opening round 12 months ago, the seven-time winner was rusty and error-prone.
The will remained and, cheered on by a supportive crowd, she looked like she might stumble over the finish line after coming from a set down and then saving a match point in the 12th game of the decider.
But instead Williams suffered just her third first-round loss at a grand slam, going down 7-5 1-6 7-6 (10) in a deciding tie-break at 10.35pm after three hours and 10 minutes.
At 40, the American's time in the game is clearly running out, but she remained vague about her future plans and refused to rule out another tilt at Wimbledon next year.
"Like I said coming into this, I’m just planning for right now, seeing how I feel, just to go from there," she said.
Pressed on whether it was her farewell to the All England Club, Williams added: "That’s a question I can’t answer. I don’t know. Who knows? Who knows where I’ll pop up."
Tan, a 24-year-old debutante ranked 115, is the type of player Williams used to beat before even stepping on court but no one, including probably the 23-time grand slam singles champion herself, knew what to expect here.
"She's beaten a legend."
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 28, 2022
After three hours, 10 minutes, Harmony Tan beats Serena Williams in a first round epic#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/IQst8AzXxv
Williams recovered from a very shaky start to lead 4-2 in the opening set but 21 unforced errors proved her downfall.
She composed herself after a short break to close the roof, winning the second set comfortably, and it looked like she might find a way through when she led 3-1 in the decider.
But there were no certainties about Williams here and she was unable to capitalise on a 4-0 lead in the tie-break, with Tan celebrating the best moment of her career.
"I think physically I did pretty good," said Williams. "I think the last couple of points, I was really suffering there.
"But I feel like in just those key points, winning some of those points, is always something mentally that you kind of need. I did pretty good on maybe one or two of them, but obviously not enough."
It has been clear for several years that Williams cannot simply turn up and win grand slams now and, with varied business commitments and a young daughter, she has plenty going on in her life besides tennis.
However, the US Open begins in two months, and Williams gave a positive indication that she will be at Flushing Meadows in August.
"It definitely makes me want to hit the practice courts," she said. "I feel that it's actually kind of like, 'OK, Serena, you can do this if you want’.
"When you’re at home, especially in New York, and the US Open, that being the first place I’ve won a grand slam, is something that’s always super special. There’s definitely lots of motivation to get better and to play at home."
Williams would surely not have come to the All England Club if she did not believe a record-equalling 24th grand slam title was still a possibility.
Asked if she could be satisfied with Tuesday’s loss being her final Wimbledon memory, she said: "Obviously not. You know me. Definitely not.
"But today I gave all I could do. Maybe tomorrow I could have given more. Maybe a week ago I could have given more. But today was what I could do. At some point, you have to be able to be OK with that."
World number one Iga Swiatek went into the record books in style as she won her 36th match in a row with victory over Jana Fett on Centre Court.
Swiatek's amazing streak, which goes back to February and has seen her win six tournaments, means it is the longest winning streak of the 21st century, overtaking Venus Willams’ record set in 2000.
The two-time French Open champion, a hot favourite for the SW19 crown, enjoyed the prestigious opening slot on Centre Court usually reserved for the defending champion and beat Croatian Fett 6-0 6-3.
Defending champion Ashleigh Barty’s retirement meant that Swiatek was given the honour of opening play on the main show court and she looked entirely at home, handing her opponent a 33-minute bagel.
This was the Pole’s first match since winning at Roland Garros and Fett, who has had an active warm-up on the grass, threatened a comeback as she led 3-1 in the second set.
She had three break points to make it 4-1, but Swiatek escaped and that was the end of it, as the Pole quickly rattled off five games in a row to continue her invincible streak.
Number five seed Maria Sakkari made light work of Australian Zoe Hives, wining 6-1 6-4, but 14th seed Belinda Bencic is out, losing 6-4 5-7 6-2 to Wang Qiang in a match carried over from Monday.
Former world number one Simona Halep returned to Wimbledon for the first time since winning the 2019 title and picked up exactly where she left off with an impressive 6-3 6-2 win over dangerous Czech Karolina Muchova.
The cancellation of the tournament in 2020 because of Covid and a calf injury last year meant the 30-year-old Romanian never got to defend the Venus Rosewater Dish.
But against Muchova, a player whose 81st ranking belies her quality, she looked in the mood to reclaim it.
The 16th seed, who stunned Serena Williams in the 2019 final, was just too solid for Muchova whose lack of play this year because of an abdominal injury was cruelly exposed.
Halep broke serve in the third game and again in the ninth to take an opening set in which she did not face a break point.
It was a similar story in the second set as Halep drew Muchova into long baseline exchanges which she inevitably won.
The 25-year-old Muchova, a Wimbledon quarter-finalist in 2019 and 2021 and Australian Open semi-finalist last year, saved two break points at 1-2 in the second set.
But Halep was relentless, converting a third with a volley into the open court as she closed in on victory.
Halep's accuracy from the baseline offered Muchova no escape route and the end came after 64 minutes as the Romanian set up a clash with Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens.
Meanwhile, on the day Wimbledon lost another top player to Covid-19, France's Alize Cornet claimed competitors at the recent French Open had the virus but kept quiet about it.
Matteo Berrettini, last year’s Wimbledon runner-up and among the favourites for this year’s title, pulled out on Tuesday morning after testing positive, a day after 2017 finalist Marin Cilic withdrew due to the virus.
Last month defending champion Barbora Krejcikova pulled out of Roland Garros after a positive test, but Cornet feels more players must have been infected.
"When we see that Krejcikova withdraws saying I have Covid, and that the whole dressing room is sick. At some point we may all have had the flu," she told French outlet L’Equipe.
"The thing is, we have three symptoms. The throat scratching, we play and everything is fine, it’s OK. In Roland, yes, I think there have been a few cases and it is a tacit agreement between us."
There are currently no requirements for players to test or to withdraw if they do test positive, with Wimbledon following UK Government guidelines.
But it is possible the rules could be tightened if there are further positive tests.
