Venus Williams has accepted a wildcard invitation to play the single at the 2025 Mubadala Citi DC Open, which begins on July 19th.
The tournament will be the first to be 45 years old in more than a year. Williams’ final official match was at the Miami Open in March 2024. This will mark Williams’ first appearance at the DC Open since 2022.
“There’s something really special about DC: energy, fans, history,” Williams said in a statement via USA Today. “This city has always shown me so much love and I can’t wait to compete again.”
Seven-time Grand Slam champion Williams received a wildcard entry for the BNP Paribas Open in February, but later revealed that she hadn’t committed to playing in the event. She is currently listed as an “inactive” player on the WTA website profile page.
Williams has not played in Grand Slam Event 2023 when he lost in the first round at Wimbledon after suffering a knee injury. In 2011, Williams announced that he had been diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disease.
The older sister of 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, Venus Williams’ career includes five Wimbledon and two open US victories. Tabbed as the world’s No. 1 single player in February 2022, Williams holds a career single record of 818-279. Venus and Serena have won 22 doubles titles, including 14 Grand Slam titles and three Olympic Gold medals.
“She inspired people all over the world with her work in the courts and her visionary influence from the courts,” said Mark Ein, chairman of the Mubadara City DC Open. “We know how meaningful it makes her to our DC fans and the community that she can compete directly this summer.”
