World number one Aryna Sabalenka and reigning champion Iga Swiatek arrive in London with plenty to prove themselves, after a chaotic French Open during which top seeds fell by the wayside before teenager Mirra Andreeva took the spoils.
Here, AFP Sport looks at three talking points ahead of the tournament, which starts at the All England Club on Monday:
At what level will Serena play?
The 44-year-old Williams will make a remarkable comeback to singles tennis after taking the last wildcard.
She has played two doubles matches, winning one and losing one, in preparation, but singles will be a completely different test.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion, one short of Margaret Court and Novak Djokovic's joint all-time major record, lost in the first round at each of her two most recent Wimbledon appearances, in 2021 and 2022.
But Serena's serve, which helped power her to seven Wimbledon triumphs, still looked a serious weapon in those doubles outings.
"Is she gonna win the tournament? No," her former coach Rick Macci told Tennis365.
"But can she do damage and beat anybody? I'm telling you, she can beat anybody on the tour."
Williams, who is also going to play doubles alongside her sister Venus, will certainly be a player the top seeds are hoping to avoid in the first round when Friday's draw is made.
Sabalenka's third-set mentality
Sabalenka appeared unbeatable when she powered to a 'Sunshine double' in March, but a disappointing clay-court campaign ended with a remarkable implosion from a dominant position to lose in the French Open quarter-finals, dropping the final 10 games to Diana Shnaider.
It was a defeat reminiscent of her 2025 Roland Garros final loss to Coco Gauff, and she did nothing to suggest she has got over her third-set demons when being bagelled in a decider by Jessica Pegula in Berlin last week.
Sabalenka has been by far the most consistent player in recent years, reaching 14 successive Grand Slam quarter-finals.
But she has never made a Wimbledon final, losing in the semis in each of her past three appearances.
Last year she was knocked out in the last four by Amanda Anisimova - in a third set.
Will Swiatek become 'Queen of Grass'?
Swiatek was the undisputed best player in the world on clay during a five-year spell which brought four French Open titles.
But her form has become more inconsistent on all surfaces, and she lost in the Roland Garros semis to Sabalenka last year before a fourth-round exit this season.
However, despite having a poor record at Wimbledon previously compared to the other Slams, Swiatek romped to her sixth major triumph in London on grass 11 months ago in much the same style she had long dominated on the red dirt.
The Pole dropped just two games across the semi-finals and final, dismantling Anisimova in the showpiece match 6-0, 6-0.
She will be hoping a return to Wimbledon can spark a similar upturn in fortunes next week, especially after losing her only warm-up match to Emma Navarro in Bad Homburg on Wednesday.