Even for a five-times Wimbledon champion and a former world No1 who has contested more than 1,000 professional matches, a visit to the All England Club as a spectator this summer stirred the senses. So much so that Venus Williams decided there and then to go ahead with a remarkable comeback at the age of 45.
The sight of Williams walking around the grounds of SW19 last month took many observers aback and understandably added to the suspicion that the curtain had perhaps already been drawn on her career. She had not played a match since the Miami Open in March 2024, instead spending more time attending to her various business interests and sponsorship commitments.
“I do know that when I went to Wimbledon this year, I was there for a day, and it was so beautiful and exciting,” Williams said. “I remembered all the times that I had, and of course the adrenaline, all those things.
Venus shares a fist-bump with John McEnroe during a Stars of the Open exhibition match on Friday
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“I think just the pure fun of playing the game, the fun of the challenge… when you play, you overcome so many challenges: your opponents, the conditions, a lot of times you have to overcome yourself. Those things are very exciting.”
It was music to the ears of tournament organisers across the United States, who had their wild cards ready. Wimbledon had not even finished by the time Williams had confirmed her return at the Washington Open, with further announcements following from the Cincinnati Open and US Open. At Flushing Meadows on Monday night she will become the oldest player to compete in the singles here since a 47-year-old Renée Richards in 1981.
There is great intrigue about how Williams will perform on one of the sport’s biggest stages. The early signs have been encouraging, most notably a 6-3, 6-4 win against the world No47, Peyton Stearns, in her first match back in Washington DC last month. While two straight-set defeats have followed, she has by no means looked past it in those matches against Magdalena Frech, the world No30, and Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, ranked No40.
Not that this has dampened the criticism. Coverage on social media of Williams’s announcements and matches over the past few weeks has repeatedly prompted messages from disgruntled tennis fans, complaining that she is taking wild-card spots away from younger American players. This prompted an angry riposte from Andy Roddick, the 2003 US Open champion, on his Served podcast this week.
Lifting the US Open singles trophy for the second time after defeating her sister Serena in the final in 2001
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“I don’t care if she goes out and doesn’t win a single game, we should be full of gratitude for having had Venus Williams in our game,” Roddick, 42, said. “They [the critics] are like, ‘They are taking it away from someone who is deserving.” If you are deserving, you don’t need a wild card. Simply you have qualified on your own ranking.
“It’s not an entitlement, it’s a gift. You’re telling me as a tennis tournament that Venus Williams is not deserving as a gift from the US Open? Shut up, get out of here. She has been a gift to us, it’s not the other way around.”
It is reminiscent of the debate that swirled when Martina Navratilova accepted a wild card for Wimbledon in 2004 at the age of 47. Her response was to walk out on to No2 Court at the All England Club and thrash Catalina Castaño, an opponent 23 years her junior, 6-0, 6-1 in 46 minutes.
It would be quite a shock if Williams were to do something similar against Karolina Muchova, a 29-year-old seeded No11, on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday, but we will have much fascination in watching her try. Further justifying the wild card is the fact that executives at the American broadcaster ESPN privately expect it to be one of the most-watched matches of the early rounds.
It has not helped that there is a misconception surrounding Williams’s attitude towards tennis in the latter phase of her career. While she has repeatedly expressed clear disdain for commitments such as press conferences, her irregular scheduling of tournaments through the years is not because of any motivational issues. Only recently has it come to light that she has experienced extreme pain and nausea with her periods, to the point where she was: “Hugging the toilet, waiting for this to pass.”
Fashion is one of Williams’s main passions away from the court
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This is why Williams was absent for 16 months. After repeatedly having her symptoms dismissed by doctors, she finally got some answers in July 2024 when a specialist advised that she required surgery to remove fibroids (non-cancerous tumours of muscle and tissue) from her uterus.
“My health journey was very scary,” Williams said. “This time a year ago I was preparing to go to surgery. There was no way for me to play tennis or play the US Open, or those things weren’t even on my mind. I was just trying to get healthy. I wanted to try to play sooner but I couldn’t.”
The break gave Williams plenty of time to enjoy life off the court. She has become engaged to the Italian actor and model Andrea Preti, and her sister Serena is heavily involved in planning bachelorette events. Interior design and fashion are two particular passions, while she also tasted television punditry for the first time at the French Open with TNT Sports.
Ultimately, though, Williams did not quite feel ready to let go of a professional career that started in 1994. Although she joked last month that her return to tennis was to restore her eligibility for the WTA’s health insurance programme, she has long been working towards a comeback in private by keeping up her fitness through closed-doors practice drills and gym sessions.
“I stayed in shape,” Williams said. “Even if I wasn’t playing tennis, I was always in the gym. Physically, I feel pretty much the same, like I don’t have major injuries that are killing me or anything like that.
“I don’t have chronic this or chronic that or this is a disaster and I’m holding it together with staples and paper clips. I don’t have any of that with my body. It’s a blessing, knock on wood.”