Former champion Venus Williams, 45, gets US Open wild card, oldest singles entrant in 44 years

By Amy Woodyatt, CNN

(CNN) — Venus Williams is making her return to the US Open at 45 as a wild card for the singles main draw.

Williams’ appearance later this month will make her the oldest singles entrant at Flushing Meadows since Renee Richards, who was 47 at the time of her participation in 1981, according to the International Tennis Federation.

The American former world No. 1 made her return to tennis with her first match in 16 months at the DC Open in July, where she claimed her first singles win in two years.

With that win, Williams became the oldest player to win a singles match on the WTA Tour since Martina Navratilova won in the first round of Wimbledon in 2004 aged 47.

However, her bid for her first winning streak since 2019 ended with a 6-2, 6-2 loss to 24th-ranked Magdalena Frech in the next round at the DC Open.

Over the course of her career, Williams won seven grand slam singles titles – two of them at the US Open – and 14 in doubles alongside younger sister Serena. She also holds two mixed doubles grand slam titles in 1998.

The tennis legend is currently ranked 654th and was listed as inactive on the WTA website until last month.

Williams will also be participating in the tournament’s mixed doubles competition, alongside fellow American Reilly Opelka.

Tournament organizers announced that this year’s “reimagined” mixed doubles will take place several days before the scheduled start of the tournament, which would allow top players to appear, attracting more fans and allowing broadcasters to spotlight the competition before main draw singles play begins on August 24.

And while the change has been welcomed by some players, others have argued that the new format would allow doubles specialists to be overlooked, with defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori calling adjustments to the tournament “a profound injustice.”

Americans Clervie Ngounoue, Julieta Pareja, Caty McNally, Valerie Glozman and Alyssa Ahn will also receive women’s singles main draw wild cards for the tournament, which begins next Monday, alongside France’s Caroline Garcia and Australia’s Talia Gibson.

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CNN’s George Ramsay and Matias Grez contributed reporting.