Venus Williams has been awarded a wildcard to compete in January’s Australian Open.
The 42-year-old will return 25 years after her debut in the Melbourne tournament, which begins on 16 January.
A seven-time Grand Slam champion in singles, Williams reached the Australian Open final in 2003 and 2017 and has won five doubles titles there.
“I am very excited to be returning to Melbourne to compete at the Australian Open in January,” she said.
“I’ve been competing in the country for over 20 years now and the Australian community has always supported me wholeheartedly.
“It will be an honour to play for the fans again and I’m looking forward to making more memories at the tournament this year.”
Williams is ranked 1,007th in the world and her last competitive singles match was a first-round defeat at the US Open in August, having played just four tournaments in 2022.
The Grand Slam in New York was the last for Williams’ sister Serena, who announced she was “evolving away” from tennis before the tournament.
Novak Djokovic is also set to compete in Melbourne – a year after being deported from Australia because of his Covid-19 vaccination status.
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