Venus Williams Returns to the US Open with Wild Card
Tennis legend Venus Williams will make her much-anticipated return to a Grand Slam tournament at the US Open. After a two-year absence, Williams has received a special invitation to compete in the singles event at Flushing Meadows. At 45 years old, the American tennis player will become the oldest participant in the individual competition, a milestone not seen since Renée Richards competed at 47 in 1981. Williams had already secured her participation in the mixed doubles tournament thanks to another invitation from the United States Tennis Association. The individual matches will begin in New York on August 24. Throughout her outstanding career, Williams has won seven individual Grand Slam titles, including victories at the US Open in the years 2000 and 2001. In addition, she has won 14 women’s doubles titles, all alongside her sister Serena, and two mixed doubles titles. Serena Williams, after winning 23 Grand Slam singles titles, retired after playing at the 2022 US Open. Venus Williams’ last participation in a Grand Slam tournament was at the 2023 US Open, where she was eliminated in the first round. Her last singles victory in this tournament dates back to 2019. After more than a year away from the courts, Williams returned to competitive tennis in July. She achieved a victory at the DC Open before being eliminated in the first round in Cincinnati last week.Last year, Williams underwent surgery to remove uterine fibroids and missed a large part of the season. In Washington, she became the oldest woman to win a singles match at tour level since Martina Navratilova achieved it at 47 at Wimbledon in 2004; Williams also won a doubles match at the DC Open. In addition to his performance on the court, Williams has drawn attention for announcing his engagement to Italian actor Andrea Preti and for his joking comments about the need to play again to maintain his medical insurance coverage. In New York, Williams will participate in the mixed doubles tournament from August 19 to 20 alongside Reilly Opelka, a 27-year-old American tennis player who was once among the top 20 in the world. Other tennis players who will receive special invitations for the US Open in singles are Americans Clervie Ngounoue, Julieta Pareja, Caty McNally, Valerie Glozman and Alyssa Ahn, as well as Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia, who will play her last Grand Slam tournament before retiring, and Australian Talia Gibson. Regarding the men’s wildcards, Americans Brandon Holt, Nishesh Basavareddy, Tristan Boyer, Emilio Nava, Stefan Dostanic, and Darwin Blanch, along with Frenchman Valentin Royer and Australian Tristan Schoolkate, will also participate.Coming out of this match, I feel incredible. That means that in this next period [before the US Open] I won’t have to fix injuries. Now I can work on power and speed instead of just trying to make sure I’m not injured before the tournament.
Venus Williams
