Venus Williams, 45, set for comeback after 16 months—her first opponent revealed
Jan Novak
Dailysports's expert
Legendary American tennis star Venus Williams is officially making her return to the court—and she already knows the name of her first opponent. In the opening round of the WTA 500 tournament in Washington, she'll face Poland's Magda Linette.
This marks Venus Williams' first appearance in a WTA event since her first-round defeat at the Miami Open in 2024, where she lost to Diana Shnaider. Following that, she also withdrew from Indian Wells and, for the first time since 1995, dropped out of the WTA rankings.
For the record, Venus had not stepped onto the court since March of last year and was listed as "inactive" on the WTA website, but has now received a wild card entry for the Washington tournament. It's worth noting that the elder Williams sister is a seven-time Grand Slam champion and remains one of the most decorated players in tennis history.
