AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Tennis great Venus Williams will play her 33rd consecutive season on the WTA Tour, starting in January in Auckland.
Organizers of the ASB Classic in New Zealand announced Wednesday that Williams, 45, will compete in the January 5-11 event.
This suggests the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion is preparing for the Australian Open later that month, where she has lost twice in the final.
According to the tour, Williams made her professional tournament debut in 1994 in Oakland, California, and has competed in at least two WTA events each season since then.
Her last singles appearance was at the US Open in August, where she lost in the first round to 11th seed Karolina Muchova in three sets.
Williams, ranked No. 570, is five years older than Naoko Eto and Bethany Mattek-Sands, the next highest ranked.
