The most well-known siblings in tennis can be represented within the Australian Open draw but once more after Venus Williams was awarded a wildcard into the season’s first grand slam in Melbourne.
A yr after neither Venus nor Serena Williams contested the Open for the primary time in 1 / 4 of a century, Tennis Australia on Monday introduced 42-year-old Venus could be again subsequent month for a twenty second time.
“I am very excited to be returning to Melbourne to compete at the Australian Open in January,” Williams mentioned in an announcement launched by Tennis Australia.
“I’ve been competing in the country for over 20 years now and the Australian community has always supported me wholeheartedly.
“It can be an honour to play for the followers once more and I’m wanting ahead to creating extra recollections on the match this yr.”
The AO is the biggest major title to elude the seven-time grand slam champion, who made her first Melbourne appearance as a 16-year-old in 1997.
She lost the 2003 final to her sister, and last reached the decider in 2017, losing again to Serena, who was three-months pregnant.
Serena won’t be back after announcing her retirement following a third-round UP Open loss to Australian No.1 Ajla Tomljanovic in September.
But tournament director Craig Tiley said he was delighted to welcome back Venus, who holds a 54-21 win-loss record in Melbourne, having reached at least the quarter-finals nine times.
“Venus isn’t just an unimaginable participant and fan favorite, she’s an awesome position mannequin and chief in our sport in so some ways,” Tiley mentioned.
“We are delighted to welcome her again to the AO in January.”
Williams joins an incredible women’s field featuring 12 major champions and an unusually high main-draw entry ranking cut-off of world No.95.
The 2023 Australian Open runs from January 16-29.
