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

Summary

Served with Andy Roddick

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

Date: June 19, 2026
Host: Served Media Network Team (Producer Mike, Andy Roddick, contributors)

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Episode Overview

This fast-paced episode of the "Five Setter" delivers a lively roundup of the week’s hottest tennis headlines in under 10 minutes. From major Wimbledon wild card intrigue to Andy Murray’s coaching ambitions, a Saudi super-venue, and a shakeup at tennis.com, the Served team combines breaking news, playful banter, and historical context. True to their style, the show serves quick sets of insight with plenty for even the most up-to-date tennis fans.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Williams Sisters Return—Doubles Wild Card at Wimbledon

(01:20 – 02:40)

• Big News: Serena and Venus Williams have received a wild card to play doubles at Wimbledon 2026.
  • Background: Serena’s doubles run in Berlin with Karolina Mahova ended in a first-round loss, but the focus quickly shifted to the All England Club announcement.
  • The sisters are six-time Wimbledon doubles champions—their first and most recent titles as wild card entrants.
  • They jointly hold the all-time record for women’s doubles titles at Wimbledon.

Quote:
"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…They share the all time record for women's doubles titles at Wimbledon."
- Producer Mike (01:40)

2. Will Serena Take the Last Wimbledon Singles Wild Card?

(02:45 – 03:20)

• Speculation: One women’s singles wild card remains unclaimed. Serena has not ruled herself out.
• On being told there is a spot open, Serena teases but doesn’t confirm an interest.
• The Served crew, along with much of the tennis world, is “all interested” in seeing Serena competing in singles.

Memorable Moment:
"Would you be interested in that [the singles wildcard]?"
"Would you be interested that I took it? I would be interested in you taking it for sure… I would be interested in it. I need to get to work."
- Reporter and Serena Williams interaction, recounted by Producer Mike (03:00 – 03:20)

3. Wimbledon Wild Card Roundup & Notable Absences

(03:22 – 05:13)

• Men’s Wild Cards:

  • Stan Wawrinka (on a farewell tour, retiring end of 2026)
  • Grigor Dimitrov (rebuilding rank after injury)

• Women’s Wild Card:

  • French Open Cinderella Maya Walenska nabs her first Slam direct entry

• Dan Evans Snub:

  • Evans (former British #1), ranked 244, was not given a singles wild card:
    "It would have been a classy gesture to give me a wild card, but obviously that was lacking on this occasion."
    (Dan Evans, via Producer Mike, 04:25)
  • He will play doubles with Henry Searle but must grind through qualifying for singles at Roehampton.

• Withdrawals: Sebastian Korda (back), Lorenzo Musetti (thigh), Holger Rune (pulled out after practice).

4. Andy Murray Praises Jack Draper’s Comeback

(06:40 – 07:30)

• Coaching Update: Andy Murray praises Jack Draper, noting he’s been impressed with Draper's progress as he recovers from injury.

• Direct quote from The Guardian article:

  "I also believe a lot in his tennis… I've been more impressed probably than what I expected, and I thought he was bloody good before I started helping him."
  – Andy Murray (06:54)

• Plans are for Draper to return to competition at Eastbourne, using it as a prep for Wimbledon.

5. Saudi Arabia’s Gigantic Tennis Venue

(07:32 – 08:32)

• Facility Announcement: Saudi Arabia released renderings for what would be the largest tennis center in the Middle East, just outside Riyadh.
  • 30 courts
  • 15,000-seat center court (retractable roof)
  • 8,000-seat arena (roofed)
  • Designed by Populous (also designed Wimbledon's roof)
  • Target opening: 2027
• Part of the $40 billion "Qiddiya City" entertainment/sports mega-project (theme park, F1 track, etc.)

Quote & Banter:
"Hopefully they will have a [F1] race the same weekend and an Italian will win both. So the question is going to be, will this be the next iconic tennis venue, or will this stay only a rendering similar to The Line project?"
- Producer Mike (08:25)

6. Tennis.com’s News Section is Gone—A “Dot Com Bubble Burst”?

(08:34 – 09:30)

• Observation: Tennis.com has dramatically pared back its site—now just scores, tournaments, rankings; news/newsarchives only in a hard-to-find link (last updated June 8).
• Reminiscing: Tennis.com began as Tennis Magazine, which transitioned fully to digital in 2022 after being acquired by Tennis Channel in 2017.
• Speculation: Is this a temporary redesign, or an end to regular tennis journalism from this legacy brand?

7. Tiebreak Trivia & Newsletter Teasers

(09:31 – End)

• Tiebreak Trivia: “Who was the first person or people to appear on the cover of Tennis Magazine?”
• Other quick headlines (available in the Five Setter newsletter):
  • Carlos Alcaraz update
  • Wimbledon dark horse
  • College tennis Cinderella story

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "The Queen herself… Serena has not ruled out singles. And yes, I can confirm we are all interested."
  – Producer Mike (02:55)

• "It would have been a classy gesture to give me a wild card, but obviously that was lacking on this occasion."
  – Dan Evans, via Producer Mike (04:25)

• "I've been more impressed probably than what I expected and I thought he was bloody good before I started helping him."
  – Andy Murray (06:54)

• "Will this be the next iconic tennis venue, or will this stay only a rendering similar to The Line project? Only time will tell."
  – Producer Mike (08:30)

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• Williams Sisters Doubles Wild Card: 01:20 – 02:40
• Serena on Singles Wild Card: 02:45 – 03:20
• Wimbledon Wild Cards & Snubs: 03:22 – 05:13
• Andy Murray on Jack Draper: 06:40 – 07:30
• Saudi Tennis Super-Venue: 07:32 – 08:32
• Tennis.com News Vanishes: 08:34 – 09:30
• Tiebreak Trivia/Newsletter: 09:31 – end

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Tone & Style

• Fast, breezy delivery with equal doses of historical context and playful banter; clear passion for the sport and its legends.
• The episode aims to inform, entertain, and preview what’s next, while inviting listeners to dig deeper via their newsletter.

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Summary Takeaway

This episode leans into the excitement building around Wimbledon and tennis’s shifting landscapes, spotlighting returning legends, behind-the-scenes drama, emerging venues, and changing media tides—all in the tight, conversational style that’s become Served’s signature. Whether you’re a Serena superfan, Murray watcher, or following tennis’s growing global reach, this Ten-Minute Five Setter serves up plenty to chew on.

Transcript

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[Producer Mike]

What's up Chuckers? Producer Mike here. This is the Served five Setter, your weekly roundup of all things racket sports. Five stories in ten 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 19, 2026 and here is what we've got for you. The sister act is back. More wild card controversy, the knight speaks praises and a tennis design they are not caddying about. Plus did a dot 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 Karolina Mahova. Serena and her partner went down in the opening round 6464 to Juliana Almos and Aaron Rodriguez Troutlift. 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 one remaining women's singles wildcard 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, here's what she had to say. There's still one Wimbledon singles wildcard that hasn't been announced yet. Would you like it? Oh, my gosh. There's. There's left.

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There's some left.

[Producer Mike]

There was one left, yeah. Would you be interested in that? Would you be interested that I took it? I would be interested in you taking it for sure.

[Carrington College Representative]

Gosh.

[Producer Mike]

You think I'm ready for singles? It's more important what you think. Oh, I think it's important.

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What do you think?

[Producer Mike]

I think you. I think you'd be ready. What do you think, Carolyn? I would be interested in it. I need to get to work. Would you recommend. Raise her hand for it? That's the question of the hour, right? I don't know. I don't know, man. Serena's 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 Warinka and Grigor Dimitrov. Walrinka, 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 eventual champion Jannik 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 Walenska picked up a singles wild card. This will be her first time receiving a direct entry for a Slam. No. Now, someone who was expecting a wild card was 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 wildcard alongside Henry Searle. So he gets a send off on Homegrass 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 are here. Sebastian Korda is out due to ongoing back issues. Lorenzo Massetti pulled out as he continues to rehab his thigh injury. And despite raising hopes after being spotted on court with Jannik Sinner earlier this week, Holgerune has officially bowed out of the championships.

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Let's get to set number three where we hear from Sir Andy Murray, who is both a knight who protects the realm and a coach who is encouraged by his players progress. As a reminder, Murray is currently coaching Jack Draper through the grass season, a duo that we have yet to see officially debut due to Draper's ongoing recovery from injury. On Wednesday, the Guardian reported that Murray seems pleased with what he is seeing from Draper recently, saying, quote, I get to spend a decent amount of time with Jackson. I also believe a lot in his tennis, in the sessions I've done with him, I've been more impressed probably than what I expected and I thought he was bloody good before I started helping him, end quote. The article goes on to say that the plan is for Draper to return at Eastbourne this coming week before Wimbledon. We'll be keeping an eye on that set. Number four takes us from the grass to the desert where Saudi Arabia has unveiled plans for the biggest national tennis center in the Middle East. Rendering of the facility going up in Gydea, a city just outside of Riyadh hit the Internets this week and commenters were quick to compare it down to the color scheme to the iconic All England Club. This comparison seems to make sense considering the facility is reportedly being designed by the architecture firm Populous, which is the same folks that were behind Wimbledon's retractable roof. This new facility will reportedly have 30 courts, a 15,000 seat center court with a retractable roof of its own, and an 8,000 seat arena also designed with a roof. This all could be operational as soon as 2027. This apparently is part of a wider Cadilla City project, a roughly $40 billion entertainment and sports mega build that already has a theme park, a water park, and of course why not an F1 track? Hopefully they will have a race the same weekend and an Italian will win both. So the question is going to be will this be the next iconic tennis venue or will this stay only a rendering similar to the line project? Only time will tell. Finally, here at Served, we read a lot of tennis news and this morning we went to one of our usual stops, tennis.com to which we were met with a site that looked very different. The website now prominently features three pages, scores, tournaments and rankings. But where did their news section go? If you scroll all the way down, there is a link to News article Archives, a section where the last article published was June 8, 2026. When discussing this with the group newsletter, Megan reminded us that tennis.com was originally a good old fashioned print magazine, tennis magazine, which she used to get when she was younger. Tennis Channel purchased Tennis magazine back in 2017 and eventually transitioned it to a fully Digital publication in 2022. It is unclear if this is forever a new design or just a pit stop on the way to a fresh coat of painting. We will keep you updated on what we learn and this leads us to our tiebreak trivia. Sticking with that last story, who was the very first person or people to appear on the COVID of Tennis Magazine? We will have that answer for you in this week's five center newsletter along with a few headlines that did not make the show, we've got an update on Carlos Alcaraz, a Wimbledon dark horse and a college tennis Cinderella story. For the full breakdown, head to servepodcast.com or find us on Substack. Remember to hit subscribe on YouTube or follow us on your favorite podcast platform. As always, thanks to the Serve Team and we will see you chuckers on Tuesday.

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