NEW YORK – Venus Williams’ comeback heads for the US Open next month. She will take part in a redesigned mixed double stomping with Reilly Opelka via wildcard entries.
Williams, 45, returned to the tennis tour last week more than a year later, with Opelca being one of 14 teams announced by the American Tennis Association on Tuesday.
Eight pairings entered the field directly based on the highest current single rankings, with six being given wildcards by USTA.
Players with spots in the bracket include nine players who have won at least one Grand Slam single title and 14 players who are ranked in the WTA or ATP top 10 for singles.
The eight duoes with direct entry are Emma Navarro, No. 11 and Janik Thinner, No. 1. No. 10 Paula Badosa and No. 5 Jack Draper. No. 3 Iga Swiatek and No. 13 Casper Ruud. No. 12 Elena Rybakina and No. 4 Taylor Fritz. No. 7 Amanda Anisimova and No. 9 Holger Rune. Belinda Bensick and number 3 Alexander Zverev. No. 4 Jessica Pegula and No. 15 Tommy Paul. No. 5 Mirra Andreeva and No. 14 Daniil Medvedev.
Badosa originally looked for a place on the field alongside Stefanos Zitzpas, but Draper was initially about to play with Zheng Qinwen.
In addition to Williams Opelka, the wildcard participants are Emma Raducanu and the second Carlos Alcaraz. No. 8 Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe; Olga Danilovic and No. 6 No. 6 No. 1 Djokovic. Taylor Townsend and number 7 Ben Shelton. And last year’s US open-mix doubles champions Saraerani and Andrea Vavassori.
A total of 16 duos will win the top prize of $1 million. The last two wildcard pairs will be known at a later date.
It is still possible for Williams to request and receive a wildcard entry for a single. These will be announced by the USTA in the week of August 11th.
She won one match in singles and doubles each at the DC Open in Washington last week after not competing anywhere since the Miami Open in March 2024.
Williams owns seven Grand Slam titles in singles. 14 was female doubles, all won with her sister Serena, and the two won in mixed doubles.