Belated birthday gift for Venus Williams, handed Cincinnati Open wildcard

Cincinnati Open announced on their social media platforms on her birthday that Venus Williams will be present in the tournament as a wild card entry.

The 7-time Grand Slam champion will return to the courts after her participation in the 2023 Wimbledon. Her performances during the grass-court season left a positive impression, showcasing her competitive spirit against players like Jelena Ostapenko and Elina Svitolina, and securing a victory over Italian Camila Giorgi in Birmingham Open.

As part of the US Open series swing, the American player is scheduled to compete in the WTA 1000 Canadian Open and Cincinnati. On July 31st, the Cincinnati organization officially confirmed through their social media channels the wild card granted to Williams, allowing her to participate in the main draw, despite her is in the world No. 526.

Venus Williams, who turns 43 past June 17th, is the oldest professional tennis player on the WTA tour, ahead of 41-year-old Japanese player Junri Namigata, as well as Vera Zvonareva and Kaia Kanepi, both 38 years old. In the men's draw, the closest player in age is Spanish player Feliciano Lopez, who is also 41 years old.

Despite her age, the former world No. 1 maintains her competitive spirit and has no intentions of retiring from the sport. During her participation in Wimbledon, she even mentioned that she could play until the age of 50. Williams continues to defy age and remains committed to the sport she loves.

“It’s never been done before so if there is anyone who could do it, it would be me,” she said.

“I haven’t played a lot of matches, not by choice, I wanted to play and couldn’t. I put even more work in to it. You have to deal with life and I’ve dealt with my life and most of the time, I come out on top.”