
Venus Williams receives wild card for US Open singles
Seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Williams will become the oldest singles entrant at the US Open since Renee Richards, who was 47 in 1981.
Williams underwent surgery last year to remove uterine fibroids and missed most of the season.
She made her comeback last month and became the oldest WTA match winner since Martina Navratilova at the age of 47 at Wimbledon in 2004, beating Peyton Stearns in the first round of the DC Open.
Williams, the 2000 Sydney Olympic singles champion, has also won five Wimbledon singles titles to go along with her 2000 and 2001 US Open triumphs.
She lost in the final in New York on her debut to Martina Hingis as a teenager in 1997. Venus also finished runner-up to younger sister Serena in 2002.
The most recent of her 49 WTA titles came in 2016 at the Taiwan Open.
Williams will also compete in the new-look US Open mixed doubles next week alongside Reilly Opelka.
France's Caroline Garcia, 31, was given a wild card into what will be her final Grand Slam before retirement. Her best run at a major came when she reached the US Open semi-finals three years ago.
Americans Clervie Ngounoue, Julieta Pareja, Caty McNally, Valerie Glozman and Alyssa Ahn are other wild card recipients, as is Australian Talia Gibson.
On the men's side, American players Brandon Holt, Nishesh Basavareddy, Tristan Boyer, Emilio Nava, Stefan Dostanic and Darwin Blanch all earned wild cards.
The final two went to France's Valentin Royer and Australia's Tristan Schoolkate.
The US Open singles main draw begins on August 24.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
PSG defeat Tottenham on penalties to claim European Super Cup
In soccer, Amel Majri is leaving OL Lyonnes, while Kevin Trapp is returning to Paris. In tennis, Adrian Mannarino gave it his all but lost to Jannik Sinner. Venus Williams has received US Open wild card.


France 24
5 hours ago
- France 24
Defending champions Sinner, Sabalenka reach Cincinnati quarters
Sinner shrugged off a mid-match weather delay lasting nearly three hours as he advanced 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) over Adrian Mannarino. Sabalenka, taken to three sets in her previous match with Emma Raducanu, regrouped after surrendering a second-set service break to defeat Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-1, 7-5. Alcaraz, the second seed who has reached the finals of his last six tournaments, hammered Italian lucky loser Luca Nardi 6-1, 6-4. After sweeping the opening set in 28 minutes, Alcaraz hit a speed bump, dropping his serve to trail 2-4. He promptly regained the break, then fought through a marathon ninth game that went to deuce eight times to take a 5-4 lead, Nardi coughing up a double-fault on break point. Alcaraz double-faulted on his first match point before producing a volley winner to complete the job. "This match was my best so far of the tournament," Alcaraz said. "At the start I wanted to get better each day and I've done that. "I'm proud of that and happy with how I felt the ball and how I moved," added Alcaraz, who next faces ninth-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev. World number one Sinner, playing his first tournament since winning Wimbledon, notched his 24th consecutive hardcourt match victory. The Italian won the first set and they were on serve in the second when they returned after the rain. Frenchman Mannarino's tricky game took a toll as Sinner was broken while trying to serve out the match. The second set went to a tiebreak, with Sinner firing his 11th and 12th aces to clinch victory. "He's a very difficult opponent, different from the other payers," Sinner said. "He can read the opponent well. It was a struggle to close it out but I'm happy to be in the quarter-finals." Sinner next faces Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime, who beat Benjamin Bonzi of France 6-4, 6-3. French qualifier Terence Atmane sprung the surprise of the day, shocking fourth seed Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 to win the biggest match of his career. After putting a winner into the corner on match point, Atmane sank to his knees and shed a few tears. "I can't believe this, I was shaking," the 136th-ranked Atmane said. "I cannot describe this feeling." He'll fight for a semi-final berth against seventh-seeded Holger Rune, who led 6-4, 3-1 when home hope Frances Tiafoe retired with back trouble. After her marathon victory against Raducanu, world number one Sabalenka was pleased to get off the court in straight sets against Bouzas Maneiro. "The key was to focus and put as much pressure as possible on her serve," said Sabalenka. "I'm glad to win in straight sets, I didn't want to stay for three hours." Sabalenka will face former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, who beat Australian Open champion Madison Keys 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 6-2. Zverev at the double Third-seeded Alexander Zverev had to take to the court twice on Wednesday to reach the quarters -- although both outings were relatively short-lived. The German started his day by polishing off a 6-4, 6-4 third-round victory over Brandon Nakashima in a match continued from Tuesday. The entire one-game exercise, with 2021 Cincy winner Zverev leading 6-4, 5-4 when play resumed, took less than two minutes. Hours later Zverev advanced to the quarters when Karen Khachanov retired with Zverev leading 7-5, 3-0. Fifth seed Ben Shelton, last week's Toronto champion, reached the last 16 with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 victory over Roberto Bautista Agut in a match rescheduled from Tuesday. Women's third seed Iga Swiatek beat Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-3, overcoming 33 unforced errors in a 95-minute victory to reach the quarters. "I wanted to be more solid than in my last match," Wimbledon champion Swiatek said. "I'm happy with the level of my focus and the consistency."


France 24
10 hours ago
- France 24
NBA approves $6.1bn sale of Boston Celtics
"The NBA Board of Governors has unanimously approved the sale of the controlling interests in the Boston Celtics to an investor group led by Bill Chisholm," the league said in a brief statement. "The transaction is expected to close shortly." Chisholm is the managing director and co-founder of Symphony Technology Group. When he and his co-investors agreed to purchase the storied Celtics franchise "at an initial valuation of $6.1 billion," that was the highest ever offered for a North American sports team. It has since been surpassed by the $10 billion sale, in June, of the Los Angeles Lakers by the Buss family to billionaire Mark Walter. When the Celtics sale was announced, it was stated that Wyc Grousbeck would continue in his roles of chief executive officer and governor, overseeing team operations through the 2027-28 season. The Grousbeck family and Steve Pagliuca purchased the Celtics for $360 million in 2002. But US media reported this week that Chisholm -- a Massachusetts native who calls himself a "die-hard Celtics fan" -- will assume the role of governor because under the terms of the deal, Grousbeck will no longer have the required 15% ownership stake the league requires to hold that role. Nevertheless, ESPN reported that Chisholm and Grousbeck "plan to run the team together as originally planned." The Celtics are one of the most storied in the NBA's history, with a record 18 championships, the most recent in 2024.