Venus Williams Falls at Indian Wells: Another First-Round Defeat

Venus Williams Falls in the First Round of the BNP Paribas Open

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – Venus Williams suffered a defeat in her return to the BNP Paribas Open, falling in the first round to Diane Parry of France with a score of 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-1. Williams, 45, who has accumulated eight consecutive losses in WTA singles, received a special invitation to participate in the tournament in the Southern California desert, both in singles and doubles. This participation comes 30 years after her debut at Indian Wells in 1996, when she was 15 years old. After Williams managed to tie the second set, Parry, 23 years old and ranked 111th in the world, took control of the game and dominated the third set. This was Williams’ tenth appearance at the tournament and the first since 2024, where she also lost in the first round with a special invitation. The winner of seven Grand Slam titles received a special invitation last year, but did not accept it.

Of course, losing is not fun, but it’s great to play in front of a local crowd. They supported me the whole time, and that was a lot of fun.

Venus Williams

Parry will face American Madison Keys, ranked 15th, in the second round on Saturday. Williams arrived at the BNP Paribas Open after losing her previous seven matches, with her only victory in her return to the circuit in Washington last year. Competed at the Australian Open in January and lost in the first round in both singles and doubles. Williams was the oldest woman to compete in the singles main draw of the Australian Open, surpassing the mark set by Japan’s Kimiko Date, who was 44 years old when she lost in the first round in 2015. Recently, Williams participated in the ATX Open in Austin, Texas, last month as a special guest and lost in the first round of singles against Ajla Tomljanovic.