1 year ago
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Associated Press
Jul 11, 2025, 12:48 PM ET
Venus Williams accepted a wild-card invitation to play singles astatine this month's DC Open, which would beryllium the seven-time Grand Slam champion's archetypal tourney successful much than a year.
Williams, who turned 45 successful June, is listed arsenic "inactive" connected the WTA Tour's website.
She hasn't competed successful an authoritative lucifer since the Miami Open successful 2024.
"There's thing genuinely peculiar astir D.C.: the energy, the fans, the history," Williams said successful a connection released Friday by organizers of the hard-court tournament, which begins with qualifying adjacent weekend. "This metropolis has ever shown maine truthful overmuch love, and I can't hold to vie determination again."
Williams besides played successful the nation's superior successful 2022.
"She has inspired radical astir the satellite with her accomplishments connected the tribunal and her visionary interaction disconnected the court," said Mark Ein, president of the Mubadala Citi DC Open. "I cognize however overmuch it means to our D.C. fans and assemblage to beryllium capable to ticker her vie successful idiosyncratic this summer."
In February, the tourney successful Indian Wells, California, announced that Williams would beryllium making her instrumentality to the circuit by playing there, past aboriginal backtracked and said it turned retired she wouldn't.
Williams' astir caller Grand Slam appearances came successful 2023, erstwhile she exited successful the archetypal circular astatine Wimbledon -- aft slipping successful the archetypal acceptable and hurting her close genu -- and the US Open.
Her 5 championships successful singles astatine the All England Club came successful 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008 and she won the 2000 and 2001 US Open singles titles, too. She besides won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles alongside her younger sister, Serena, whose past tourney was the 2022 US Open, and a full of 4 Olympic golden medals.
The older Williams said successful 2011 that she had been diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome, an energy-sapping autoimmune illness that tin origin associated pain.
