Venus Williams isn’t finished with 2026 just yet.
The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion has accepted wild cards into both the singles and doubles draws at the Guangzhou Open, where she will make her first appearance in Asia since 2019. Williams will partner Indonesia’s Janice Tjen in doubles.
The 46-year-old will be looking to snap a 15-match singles losing streak in Guangzhou. Williams has not won a singles match since defeating Peyton Stearns in Washington in July of 2025, her first tournament after a 16-month absence from the tour.
At that event, Williams became the oldest woman to win a WTA singles match since Martina Navratilova in 2004, but she has been unable to unlock winning ways since.
Williams last competed at the US Open, where she received wild cards into both singles and doubles. In singles, she fell to Sofia Kenin, 6-2, 7-6(6), in the opening round.
She also reunited with younger sister Serena Williams in the women’s doubles draw. The 14-time Grand Slam doubles champions pushed No. 14 seeds Maya Joint and Hao-Ching Chan to the limit before falling 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(7) in a three-hour first-round thriller on a Friday night in Flushing, a raucous affair for the sisters and the 24,000 that flooded through the gates of Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Guangzhou will mark Venus Williams’ first tournament since New York and another opportunity to collect her first singles victory of 2026. The WTA 250 event, played on outdoor hard courts, runs from October 26 through November 1.
What’s her current ranking? 100+? If she truly wants to play the tour allow her to qualify. Any other player with a poor ranking would have to. I guess her legacy earns her the right but I’m not sure it’s fair to the other players.
Enough of her is enough. They think she is a draw for the tour promoters but are degrding the sport of tennis. Retire and go shopping and travel with your hundreds of millions and let someone younger get a chance. You’re taking their spot.
she is taking a wild card spot that a young up and coming player would greatly benefir from.
Such bad reporting!
You report it as it’s a good thing for tennis and a massive achievement.
Why not print the truth?
It’s way past her retirement date and she is just taking another young players spot who could be starting a career.
Venus is done and her track record over the past year is all you need to prove it.