{"id":386240,"date":"2026-01-02T06:05:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T06:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/386240\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T06:05:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T06:05:10","slug":"venus-williams-to-become-oldest-ever-australian-open-participant-after-receiving-wildcard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/386240\/","title":{"rendered":"Venus Williams to become oldest ever Australian Open participant after receiving wildcard"},"content":{"rendered":"

Venus Williams will set a new record while attempting to wind the clock back at the Australian Open, having been given a wildcard for the tournament she first contested in 1998.<\/p>\n

Williams returns to Melbourne Park some 28 years after her first appearance in the main draw.<\/p>\n

The 45-year-old will become the oldest woman to compete in the main draw of the year-opening grand slam when she surpasses Kimiko Date, who was 44 at the 2015 Australian Open.<\/p>\n

Williams has not played in Melbourne since 2021 nor anywhere outside North America since 2023, with health issues derailing her career.<\/p>\n

\"Venus<\/p>\n

Venus Williams (left), pictured here with her sister Serena, is a two-time Australian Open singles finalist. (AAP Image: Lukas Coch)<\/p>\n

The veteran returned to the WTA Tour in the United States last July, less than a year after she underwent surgery for uterine fibroids.<\/p>\n

Williams gave 11th seed Karolina Muchova a scare in the first round of last year’s US Open, eventually losing 6-3, 2-6, 6-1.<\/p>\n

The seven-time major winner, who was given the eighth and final women’s wildcard as Nick Kyrgios waits to learn whether he will be given a call-up, cannot wait to see what is possible.<\/p>\n

“I’m excited to be back in Australia,” Williams said, revealing she will also play the Hobart International.<\/p>\n

\"Nick<\/p>\n

It remains to be seen whether a fit again Nick Kyrgios receives a wildcard in the men’s draw. (Getty Images: TPN\/Frey)<\/p>\n

“I’ve had so many incredible memories there, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to return to a place that has meant so much to my career.”<\/p>\n

Williams defeated younger sister Serena in 1998, marking her Australian Open debut with the first of 31 sibling showdowns on the circuit.<\/p>\n

The sisters faced off in the 2003 and 2017 Open finals, with Serena prevailing on both occasions.<\/p>\n

“Venus is a true legend and trailblazer of our sport \u2014 she’s an inspiration to us all,” Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said.<\/p>\n

ABC Sport Daily podcast<\/a><\/p>\n

ABC Sport Daily is your daily sports conversation. We dive into the biggest story of the day and get you up to speed with everything else that’s making headlines.<\/p>\n

The final few men’s wildcards are yet to be awarded, with Kyrgios the most notable name on the list of candidates.<\/p>\n

Kyrgios has been given a wildcard for the Brisbane International, which begins on January 4.<\/p>\n

Former grand slam finalist Mark Philippoussis told AAP last month it would be a tough call for Open organisers to make.<\/p>\n

“It’s tough. I see both sides. I see the upside but also the downside as well,” Philippoussis said.<\/p>\n

“You get a wildcard at a tournament and you don’t produce because physically you break down, it doesn’t look good.<\/p>\n

“It’s not good for the tournament, it’s certainly not good for the player, so everything is a balancing act.”<\/p>\n

AAP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Venus Williams will set a new record while attempting to wind the clock back at the Australian Open,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":386241,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[64,63,6571,963,85,11549,159412],"class_list":{"0":"post-386240","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-australian-open","11":"tag-nick-kyrgios","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-venus-williams","14":"tag-wildcard"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=386240"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386240\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/386241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=386240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=386240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=386240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}