New York – Venus Williams’ run at the 2025 US Open is not finished yet.
A day after losing a competitive three-set match against No. 11 seed in singles, the 45-year-old Williams was awarded a wildcard entry into the women’s doubles draw on Tuesday along with 2021 US Open Runner Leila Fernandez.
On Monday night, seven-time major champion and former world No. 1 Williams made the appearance of the 25th US Open Main Draw – which players have been the most since the opening era began, thrilling the crowd of abilities to thrill their abilities at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Williams, the oldest player to play singles at the US Open since 1981, returned to professional tennis at the City Open after 16 months of absence. She defeated Payton Stearns and then ranked 35th in the world, becoming the second oldest woman in a tour-level singles match.
Williams also played at the Cincinnati Open earlier this month and last week in the US Open Mixed Double Stonament with Riley Opelca, losing in the first round. This is the first major since Wimbledon in 1998 to compete in all three events (single, female doubles, mixed doubles).
Williams told reporters he was “very proud” of how she played against Mciba, and told her he was pleased with the progress she made in a short time. However, she said she didn’t want to play outside the US and would not be in any other tournament this season.
“Can someone move the tournament here? I don’t know I’m willing to travel far and play at this stage of my career,” she said Monday night. “I love playing. I’ve been incredibly up in the game since DC worked so hard to throw away rust, but at the end of the day, that’s all I can actually achieve in three or four matches.”
Williams, who won 14 Grand Slam Doubles titles and three Olympic Gold medals with sister Serena, will be playing for the first time with 22-year-old Fernandez from Canada. They face sixth seeded Lyudmyla Kichenok and Ellen Perez in the first round.
Other duoes receiving the wildcard include American Hailey Baptist, doubles partners for Williams in Washington, DC, and teams of Whitney Osigwe, Krelvie Nugunoue and Iva Jovic.
ESPN research contributed to this report.