Venus to play Australian Open with wild card after 5-year absence

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams has received a wild-card entry for the Australian Open beginning Jan. 18 in Melbourne.

The tournament said in a social media post Friday that the 45-year-old Williams would make a return to Melbourne Park 28 years after her first appearance. In 1998, she defeated her younger sister Serena in the second round before losing in the quarterfinals to fellow American Lindsay Davenport.

Venus had announced in November that she would play in Auckland, New Zealand at a WTA tournament, where she also received a wild card, two weeks before the Australian Open.

She last appeared in Melbourne in 2021 and has finished runner-up in the women’s singles twice, losing to Serena in the finals in 2003 and 2017.

Venus Williams' record at Melbourne Park is 54 wins and 21 losses. This year will be the 22nd time she has appeared in the main draw.

In late December, she married Danish-born model and actor Andrea Preti at Palm Beach, Florida.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis