Venus Williams may be the older half of the two most famous sisters in tennis, but unlike her sibling Serena, she is not ready to call it a day on her sporting career. The 42-year-old former world No. 1 suffered a hamstring injury after returning to action at the ASB Classic in Aukland in January, forcing her to miss both the Australian Open and this week’s French Open.
But she is set to return to action after accepting a wild card invitation to compete at the Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands next month.
Having played an extremely limited schedule over the past few years, Williams is currently ranked 701 on the WTA tour. The American played in only four events last year, nine in 2021 and eight in 2020.
But having accepted the invitation to appear on grass at the June event, it would appear that she could be targeting a Wimbledon appearance this year.
Williams’ desire to appear at the British Grand Slam event is understandable. She won the women’s singles title in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008 and was also a doubles champion in SW19 on six occasions.
The American’s appearance at the Libema Open, which takes place from June 12-18, will be her first ever at the WTA event.
Excited organisers announced on Twitter: “A legend arrives… We proudly present Venus Williams as a participant in our WTA tournament! The American receives a wildcard and will debut on the ‘s-Hertogenbosch grass courts.”
Williams had been offered a Wildcard invitation to the Australian Open, but after succumbing to injury in Aukland, gave up her spot for another competitor.
Speaking about the situation in February after the Grand Slam event, she said: “That’s the point when I withdrew from the Australian Open. I had a wildcard and it was so awesome, but it wasn’t for me and I wanted someone else to have that opportunity because I knew I wouldn’t have a chance to play. I knew that it was going to be a bad injury.”
Williams’ decision to prolong her career is in contrast to that of her younger sister Serena, who announced via an article in the September 2022 edition of Vogue magazine that she was “evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me”.
Technically retired, the 41-year-old said at the time that she disliked the term “retirement” and preferred to call it an “evolvement”.
It could be argued that older sister Venus has also evolved, but not away from the sport that has made them both world-famous stars.
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