Venus Williams says she is ‘excited’ to make her return to the Australian Open next week at the age of 45.
The former world No.1 will be playing at Melbourne Park for the first time since 2021 after receiving a wildcard from the tournament. Williams is a two-time runner-up at the Australian Open, losing to her sister Serena in the 2003 and 2017 finals. This year will be her 22nd main draw appearance at the event.
Leading up to her return to Grand Slam tennis, Williams has played in two WTA 250 events, where she lost her opening match. After falling to Magda Linette in Auckland this week, she came up on short on Tuesday at the Hobart International. Taking on fellow Tour veteran and sixth seed Tatjana Maria, Williams was beaten 6-4, 6-3. Since January 2025, she has played in only five WTA events, with her sole victory occurring at the Citi Open last summer.
“The crowd was amazing. Usually I play a really big game and it’s fun to watch,” Williams said after her latest match.
“I felt I couldn’t play that with the wind. I felt bad I wasn’t able to give that performance I usually give.
“I was in control until I wasn’t … I just need to keep going and doing that and earn my stripes. I’ve been away a while.”
Williams, who is currently ranked 576th in the world, is set to become the oldest woman in history to play at the Australian Open next week. The previous record was held by Japan’s Kimiko Date, who was 44 when she played in the 2015 tournament.
“So exciting. I can’t wait (to return). I’ll take what I need to learn from this and keep going,” she said.
A seven-time major winner, Williams hasn’t gone beyond the first round of a Grand Slam since Wimbledon 2021 and the last time she won back-to-back matches at that level was at the same tournament three years earlier. However, due to a mixture of injury setbacks and scheduling, she has only featured in four out of the last 16 majors that have taken place.
The main draw for the Australian Open will take place on Thursday, 15th January at 14:30 local time. Williams made her debut at the event in 1998, which was four months before world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka was born.
