Venus Williams Returns to the Australian Open

Venus Williams is making her comeback to the Australian Open this year, marking her first entry into the tournament in five years.

The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion received a wild card for the event, set to kick off on January 18th.

At 45, Williams will be heading back to Melbourne Park, a detail that was shared on social media by the tournament.

Williams made her Australian Open debut back in 1998, where she famously defeated her sister Serena in the second round, though she eventually lost to Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals. The last time she played in the Australian Open was in 2021, where she faced her sister Serena in the finals twice—once in 2003 and again in 2017.

In November, Williams announced her participation in the WTA tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, scheduled just two weeks prior to the Australian Open.

“I’m excited to be back in Australia and looking forward to competing in the Australian summer,” Williams shared. “I have so many great memories there and am grateful for the opportunity to return to a place that has meant so much to my career,” she added.

Interestingly, Williams holds a career record of 54 wins and 21 losses at Melbourne Park. If she competes, she will become the oldest woman to participate in the main draw, surpassing Kimiko Date of Japan, who was 44 when she played in 2015.

This announcement comes on the heels of Williams’s recent marriage to actor and model Andrea Preti in a ceremony in Palm Beach, Florida. Interestingly, this wedding occurred three months after their official marriage in Italy.

“It was the happiest, most beautiful, sweetest day,” expressed the bride to Vogue magazine in December 2025.

Williams later explained to the publication that her second wedding was due to incomplete paperwork for their initial ceremony in Italy. She noted, “We had a dream of getting married in Italy. But we didn’t have enough time to complete the paperwork. Since I’m a foreigner, it can take up to eight months. So we decided to have a second wedding.”