'Amused' Venus Williams declines Indian Wells invitation: "I found out about the wild card when you guys did”

One day ago, Indian Wells announced on its official social media that seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams would make her return to the tournament with a wildcard, marking her first tournament in almost a year. However, this Sunday she denied that she would be returning to the court in California, stating that she wouldn't even be in the country.

The former world No. 1 has played only two tournaments in 2024, both during the Sunshine Double, with first-round losses at Indian Wells and the Miami Open back in March. The 44-year-old Williams continues to make sporadic appearances on tour thanks to wildcards and has previously stated that she is not considering retirement just yet.

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Williams laughs off Indian Wells return

The announcement of Williams’ return was made on the tournament’s social media, quickly generating excitement among the media and fans, who were eager to see the legendary player back in action. However, Venus commented in a recent interview that playing in the tournament is not part of her plans.

"No, I'm not playing," said the older of the Williams sisters. "Actually, I found the announcement super amusing because, I don't know, people seem to be happy, so I was like, 'Maybe I'll just go with it, I don't know.' I'm actually not going."

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"I'm going to be overseas. I'm not going to be [there]... I just had a player text me today too, like, 'Can you play doubles?' [But] I'm not playing. I found out about the wild card when you guys did. Just saying," added the five-time Wimbledon champion during the event 'An Evening with Venus Williams' from Denmark.  "And I love Indian Wells, I would love to be there and if I could have accepted it, I would have been like, 'Yes.' But I already made commitments," she concluded.

After Venus' comments were made public, the wildcard announcement was deleted by Indian Wells' social media.

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