WASHINGTON (NBC, KYMA/KECY) – Venus Williams is making her return to tennis this week as the seven-time Grand Slam champ accepted a wild-card invitation to play singles in the 2025 Mubadala Citi DC Open.
It will be her first tournament after a 16-month hiatus.
“I’m just here for now and, who knows, maybe there’s more. Like I said, I hold my cards close, but at the moment I’m focused just on this. I haven’t played in a year. There’s no doubt I can play tennis, but obviously coming back to play matches, it takes time to get in the swing of things. I definitely feel I’ll play well. I’m still the same player.
My personal goals are to have fun, I think right now, and enjoy the moment, not put too much pressure on myself. Of course, I love winning. I want to win, but more than anything I just want to get the best out of myself. If I can do that, then I’ll be fine.”
Venus Williams, tennis player
Williams, who turned 45 in June, hasn’t competed in an official match since the Miami Open in 2024, and her most recent Grand Slam appearances came in 2023 when she exited in the first round at Wimbledon after slipping in the first set and hurting her right knee, and the U.S. Open.
The older Williams sister said, in 2011, she had been diagnosed with Sjögren’s syndrome, an energy-sapping auto-immune disease that can cause joint pain.
She is scheduled to play at the DC Open Monday against Peyton Stearns.