Serena Williams’s Wimbledon Draw Could Have Been Worse

After a year away from singles, she risked drawing the world’s No. 1, Iga Swiatek, in the first round. Instead, she will face a player ranked 113th.

Serena Williams returned to competition this week, playing doubles at Eastbourne with Ons Jabeur of Tunisia.Credit...Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated PressIn her first singles match in a year, Serena Williams could have faced one of the new leaders of the game that she once dominated.

As an unseeded wild card at Wimbledon, Williams could have been drawn to play No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who has won six tournaments in a row. Or Coco Gauff, the 18-year-old American who is on the verge of breaking into the top 10 and just lost to Swiatek in the French Open…