US Open Wild Card: At 45, Venus Williams becomes oldest singles entrant in 44 years
Venus Williams
will make a historic return to Grand Slam tennis later this month after receiving a singles wild-card invitation for the US Open at the age of 45 — making her the oldest singles entrant at the tournament in 44 years.
The last player older than Williams to compete in singles at Flushing Meadows was Renee Richards, who was 47 in 1981, according to the International Tennis Federation.
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The seven-time major singles champion, who lifted the US Open trophy in 2000 and 2001, last played a singles match at the event in 2023, exiting in the first round. She has not won a singles match there since 2019.
Williams had already been granted a wild card for next week's mixed doubles event alongside fellow American Reilly Opelka, with singles play beginning on August 24 in New York.
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Her comeback follows a challenging stretch that included surgery to remove uterine fibroids and lengthy spells away from the tour. Williams returned in July at the DC Open for her first match in 16 months, becoming the oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match since Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon 2004.
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'There is no doubt I can play tennis,' Williams said then. 'I'm still the same player. I'm a big hitter. This is my brand.
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Williams also entered the Cincinnati Open via a wild card last week, though she bowed out in the opening round.
The U.S. Tennis Association also announced wild cards for American players Clervie Ngounoue, Julieta Pareja, Caty McNally, Valerie Glozman, and Alyssa Ahn; France's Caroline Garcia, set for her final Grand Slam; and Australia's Talia Gibson.
For the men, wild cards went to Americans Brandon Holt, Nishesh Basavareddy, Tristan Boyer, Emilio Nava, Stefan Dostanic, Darwin Blanch, France's Valentin Royer, and Australia's Tristan Schoolkate.
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