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Two-time former champion Venus Williams will make her 25th appearance at the US Open after being awarded a wild card entry into the women’s singles event.
The 45-year-old American recently returned to the sport following a 16-month hiatus due to a major health issue and was one of eight women granted wild card entries by tournament officials on Wednesday.
Seven-time Grand Slam singles titleholder Williams is set to be the oldest singles participant at the US Open since Renee Richards, who was 47 years old in 1981. Last year, Williams had surgery to remove uterine fibroids, resulting in her absence for most of the season.
She made her return to the court last month and, at 47, became the oldest winner in WTA match history since Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon in 2004, defeating Peyton Stearns in the first round of the DC Open.
Williams, the singles champion at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, has secured five Wimbledon singles titles in addition to her US Open victories in 2000 and 2001.
In her first appearance at the tournament in 1997, she lost in the final to Martina Hingis as a teenager. Venus also finished as runner-up to her younger sister Serena in 2002.
The latest of her titles came in 2016 at the Taiwan Open.
Williams will participate in the revamped US Open mixed doubles next week, teaming up with Reilly Opelka.
France’s Caroline Garcia, 31, received a wild card for what will be her last Grand Slam before retirement. Her best performance in a major came when she reached the US Open semi-finals three years ago.
Other wild card recipients include Americans Clervie Ngounoue, Julieta Pareja, Caty McNally, Valerie Glozman, and Alyssa Ahn, as well as Australian Talia Gibson.
On the men’s side, American players Brandon Holt, Nishesh Basavareddy, Tristan Boyer, Emilio Nava, Stefan Dostanic, and Darwin Blanch all received wild card entries.
The final two wild cards were awarded to France’s Valentin Royer and Australia’s Tristan Schoolkate. The main draw for the US Open singles begins on August 24.
