Venus Williams will make her return to Grand Slam tennis at the U.S. Open after a two-year absence, receiving a wild-card invitation on Wednesday to compete in singles at Flushing Meadows at age 45.
The American would be the oldest entrant in singles at the match since Renee Richards was 47 in 1981, in keeping with the International Tennis Federation.
Williams already had been given a wild-card entry by the U.S. Tennis Association for subsequent week’s combined doubles competitors. Singles matches start in New York on Aug. 24.
She is the proprietor of seven main singles championships — together with at the U.S. Open in 2000 and 2001 — together with one other 14 in ladies’s doubles, all gained together with her youthful sister, Serena, plus two in combined doubles. Serena retired with 23 Slam singles trophies after taking part in at the 2022 U.S. Open.
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The older Williams final participated in a Grand Slam match at the 2023 U.S. Open, dropping in the primary spherical. She hasn’t gained a singles match there since 2019.
When Williams got here again to the tour final month at the DC Open for her first match wherever in 16 months, a reporter requested whether or not that may be a one-time factor or if there have been plans for different tournaments.
“I’m simply right here for now, and who is aware of?” she replied then. “Maybe there’s extra. … But at the second, I’m targeted simply on this. I haven’t performed in a yr. There is little question I can play tennis, however clearly coming again to play matches, it takes time to get in the swing of issues. I undoubtedly really feel I’ll play effectively. I’m nonetheless the identical participant. I’m a huge hitter. I hit huge. This is my model.”
Last yr, Williams had surgical procedure to take away uterine fibroids and missed many of the season. In Washington this July, she competed for the primary time since March 2024 at the Miami Open and have become the oldest girl to win a tour-level singles match since Martina Navratilova was 47 at Wimbledon in 2004; Williams additionally gained a doubles match at the DC Open.
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In the method, Williams drew a ton of consideration for her tennis, sure, but in addition for letting the world know she’s engaged to an Italian actor and for her half-joking feedback about needing to get again on court docket to get lined by medical health insurance.
“I like Venus. We’re mates. I didn’t actually know this was one thing she was nonetheless desirous to do. But I additionally didn’t understand it was one thing she didn’t wish to do,” stated Mark Ein, the chairman of the hard-court match in Washington. “I used to be stunned. And it was a fantastic shock.”
Williams additionally entered the Cincinnati Open by way of a wild card final week, exiting in the primary spherical of singles.
In New York, she is going to play in the Aug. 19-20 combined doubles match with Reilly Opelka, a 27-year-old American who was ranked in the highest 20.
Other ladies getting singles wild playing cards for the U.S. Open are Americans Clervie Ngounoue, Julieta Pareja, Caty McNally, Valerie Glozman and Alyssa Ahn, plus France’s Caroline Garcia — who’ll be taking part in in her final Grand Slam match earlier than retirement — and Australia’s Talia Gibson.
Men’s wild playing cards went to Americans Brandon Holt, Nishesh Basavareddy, Tristan Boyer, Emilio Nava, Stefan Dostanic and Darwin Blanch, and France’s Valentin Royer and Australia’s Tristan Schoolkate.
