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Venus Williams accepts D.C. Open wildcard to play first WTA tournament in over a year

Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams will return to competitive tennis for the first time in over a year, after accepting a wildcard to the Mubadala Citi Open in Washington, D.C.

Organizers confirmed Williams’ participation Friday. Her last appearance at a WTA Tour event came in a straight-set defeat to Diana Shnaider in the first round of the Miami Open in March 2024.

The 45-year-old received a wildcard for the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in February, but turned down the opportunity to play at one of the biggest tournaments outside of a Grand Slam in the tennis calendar, citing other commitments.

The former world No 1 does not currently hold a singles ranking and is listed as “inactive” on the WTA’s website, but was ranked at No. 970 by the end of the 2024 season.

Her last victory on tour was a straight-set win over Veronika Kudermetova, when she entered the Cincinnati Open as a wild card in August 2023. She lost to Zheng Qinwen in the second round, despite emphatically taking the opening set with a double break.

Williams is one of several high-profile names on the entry list in a strong field of American participants. Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro and Wimbledon finalist Amanda Anisimova are slated to play, alongside 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu and four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka.

Williams won seven major singles titles between 2000-2008, five of which came at Wimbledon in a dominant era for the American on grass. Alongside her younger sister, Serena, she also won 14 doubles titles during her career. In 2011, Williams was diagnosed with Sjögren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disease which can cause joint and muscle pain, as well as fatigue.

Earlier this month, Williams revealed that she had played most of her career while managing uterine fibroids, noncancerous growths on the uterus that can cause heavy menstrual bleeding and discomfort.

She went on to claim six singles titles in the subsequent years, including a 2015 campaign which saw her win three. Williams finished runner-up to Serena at the 2017 Australian Open, and lost to Garbiñe Muguruza in the Wimbledon final later that year. She reached the semifinal of the U.S. Open just months later, but has not reached the latter stages of a Grand Slam since.

The D.C. Open begins July 21.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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