MELBOURNE, Australia – Seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams has qualified for the Australian Open, which begins Jan. 18 in Melbourne.
This is stated in the tournament message. post on social networks On Friday, Williams, 45, will return to Melbourne Park 28 years after her first performance. In 1998, she defeated her younger sister Serena in the second round before losing to American Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals.
In November, Venus announced that she would play in Auckland, New Zealand at the WTA tournament, where she also received a wild card, two weeks before the Australian Open.
She last competed in Melbourne in 2021 and has twice finished runner-up in the women's singles, losing to Serena in the finals in 2003 and 2017.
“I’m really excited to be back in Australia and look forward to competing in the Australian summer,” Williams said. “I made so many incredible memories there and I’m grateful for the opportunity to return to a place that meant so much to my career.”
Williams' record at Melbourne Park is 54 wins and 21 losses. This year she will appear in the main draw for the 22nd time.
The tournament says Williams will become the oldest woman to compete in the main draw of the Australian Open, surpassing the record previously set by Japan's Kimiko Date, who was 44 when she lost in the first round at Melbourne Park in 2015.
At the end of December, she married Danish-born model and actor Andrea Preti in Palm Beach, Florida.
