5 SETTER: Is Serena Playing Wimbledon Singles? Murray Praises Draper & More

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
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**SPEAKER_2** (0:30)
Are all batteries the same?

**SPEAKER_3** (0:34)
That's like asking if all soccer players are the same. Take Messi, the most decorated player ever. Is there any other player who has achieved that?

**SPEAKER_4** (0:43)
No, just him.

**SPEAKER_5** (0:45)
Now take Duracell.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:46)
Is there any other battery with power boost ingredients inside? No, just Duracell. Remember, goats only trust goats, because they're built different. And Messi only trusts Duracell.

**Mike** (1:06)
What's up, Chuckers? Producer Mike here. This is the Served Five Setter, your weekly roundup of all things racket sports, five stories in 10 minutes or less. Before we get into it, please hit subscribe on YouTube. Give us a follow on your favorite podcast platform so you can stay up on all things Served. We really appreciate the love and support. That said, today is June 19th, 2026, and here is what we've got for you. The Sister Act is back. More wild card controversy, the night speaks praises, and a tennis design they are not caddying about. Plus, did a.com bubble burst in tennis? Let's get into it.
We start in Berlin where Serena Williams come back hit another little speed bump. Playing doubles with Carolina Mojova, Serena and her partner went down in the opening round 6464 to Juliana Almos and Aaron Routliff. The first round loss, however, was overshadowed by the bigger news that dropped the very same morning. Wimbledon announced that Serena and her older sister, Venus, are getting a doubles wild card. The Williams sisters back together at the All England Club sign us up. For any new tennis fans out there, these sisters haven't just won multiple Wimbledon singles titles. These two have won six Wimbledon doubles titles together. The first in 2000, the last in 2016
The first two of those championships also came from wild cards. They share the all time record for women's doubles titles at Wimbledon. However, that is not the end of this story. As of the time of this recording, Wimbledon has won remaining women's singles wild card to award. And you guessed it, the queen herself, well, our queen, Serena, has not ruled out singles. When a reporter in Berlin told her that there was still a single spot open, here's what she had to say.

**SPEAKER_3** (2:53)
There's still one Wimbledon singles wild card that hasn't been announced yet.

**SPEAKER_2** (2:56)
Would you like it?

**SPEAKER_5** (2:58)
Oh my gosh, there's some left?

**SPEAKER_3** (2:59)
There was one left, there's one. Yeah.

**SPEAKER_2** (3:02)
Would you be interested in that?

**Mike** (3:03)
Would you be interested that I took it? I would be interested in you taking it for sure. Do you think I'm ready for singles?

**SPEAKER_5** (3:09)
It's more important what you think. Oh, I think it's important. What do you think? I think you'd be ready. What do you think, Carolyn? I would be interested in it.

**SPEAKER_2** (3:17)
Yeah.

**SPEAKER_5** (3:18)
I need to get to work.

**SPEAKER_2** (3:19)
Would you raise your hand for it?

**SPEAKER_3** (3:21)
That's the question of the hour, right?

**Mike** (3:24)
I don't know.
Man, Serena is so good at this. And yes, I can confirm, we are all interested. We'll be keeping an eye on this and that last wild card slot. So stay tuned. Or maybe it's already been announced by the time this airs.
Speaking wild card slots, for set number two, let's run through what we know about the rest of the field. On the men's side, the marquee names are Stan Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov. Wawrinka, three-time major champion, plans to retire at the end of this year. So this is a farewell lap for Stan, the man. Dimitrov, now ranked all the way down at 169, is the same guy who last year was up two sets to love on the Invitational Champion, Yannick Sinner, before suffering a pectoral injury that sidelined him until the tail end of the season. On the women's side, French Open finalist and Cinderella story of the year, Maya Wawrinka, picked up a singles wild card. This will be her first time receiving a direct entry for a slam. Now someone who was expecting a wild card is world number 244, Dan Evans. The former British number one and Davis Cup winner had this to say after finding out he was left off the men's singles wild card list. He said, quote, It would have been a classy gesture to give me a wild card, but obviously that was lacking on this occasion, end quote. Now Dan has not been completely excluded from the championships this year. He was awarded a doubles wild card alongside Henry Searle. So he gets a send off on home grass in some capacity. But for singles, the 36 year old has to do what everyone else is doing and grind through qualifying at Roehampton. Finally, to close out this set, a few notable withdrawals while we're here. Sebastian Korda is out due to ongoing back issues. Lorenzo Masetti pulled out as he continues to rehab his thigh injury. And despite raising hopes after being spotted on court with Yannick Center earlier this week, Polgarune has officially bowed out of the championships.