5 months ago
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Seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams has received a chaotic paper introduction for the Australian Open opening January 18, 2026 successful Melbourne.
The tourney said Friday (January 2, 2026) that the 45-year-old Williams would marque a instrumentality to Melbourne Park 28 years aft her archetypal appearance. In 1998, she defeated her younger sister Serena successful the 2nd circular earlier losing successful the quarterfinals to chap American Lindsay Davenport.
Venus had announced successful November that she would play successful Auckland, New Zealand, wherever she besides received a chaotic card, 2 weeks earlier the Australian Open. The Australian Open said Williams was besides entered to play a tourney successful Hobart, Australia a week aboriginal and conscionable earlier play begins astatine Melbourne Park.
She past appeared successful Melbourne successful 2021 and has finished runner-up successful the women’s singles twice, losing to Serena successful the finals successful 2003 and 2017.
“I’m excited to beryllium backmost successful Australia and looking guardant to competing during the Australian summer,” Williams said. “I’ve had truthful galore unthinkable memories there, and I’m grateful for the accidental to instrumentality to a spot that has meant truthful overmuch to my career.”
Williams' grounds astatine Melbourne Park is 54 wins and 21 losses. This twelvemonth volition beryllium the 22nd clip she has appeared successful the main draw.
The tourney said Williams is acceptable to go the oldest pistillate to vie successful an Australian Open main draw, surpassing the grounds antecedently held by Japan’s Kimiko Date, who was 44 erstwhile she mislaid successful the archetypal circular astatine Melbourne Park successful 2015.
In precocious December, Williams joined Danish-born exemplary and histrion Andrea Preti astatine Palm Beach, Florida.
