Venus Williams handed Australian Open wild card

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Venus Wiliams plays a shot

Venus Williams has been awarded a wild card into next month’s Australian Open.

Tennis bade an emotional farewell to Serena Williams at the US Open but her older sister, now 42, made no statements on her own future and will make a 22nd appearance at Melbourne Park 25 years after her debut.

Venus said: “I am very excited to be returning to Melbourne to compete at the Australian Open in January.

“I’ve been competing in the country for over 20 years now and the Australian community has always supported me wholeheartedly. It will be an honour to play for the fans again and I’m looking forward to making more memories at the tournament this year.”

Venus is ranked down at 1,007th having played sparingly and struggled for victories in recent years.

She did not play a tournament for a year, making her return in August, and lost all four singles matches she played in 2022, most recently at the US Open.

She has won only one match – at Wimbledon in 2021 – since the Australian Open nearly two years ago and has won just three matches at her last 10 grand slam tournaments combined.

Venus has twice reached the Australian Open singles final, in 2003 and 2017, losing to her sister both times, while she and Serena have won the doubles title four times.

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said: “Venus is not just an incredible player and fan favourite, she’s a great role model and leader in our sport in so many ways. We are delighted to welcome her back to the AO in January.”

Venus has always been anchored by a strong sense of self.

“For us, it was always important to know where you are, who you are,” she told GLAMOUR amagzine.

“Because if you don’t know who you are, you won’t know where you’re going. But most of all, if you don’t know who you are in your history, you’ll have no idea what you need to do to be ready for the world. So, that was so important and my parents definitely pushed history on us; to know the history of the world and history of African-Americans was super important.

“I think, especially in challenges that we face in the world… when you’re different or a minority, those are different challenges you’ll face. I think the most important lesson was for us not to see colour; that didn’t matter for my parents. It was like, ‘You don’t need to see colour. People might see your colour, but that’s not how you see the world.’ So, I think it’s important for each and every parent to teach their child that.”

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