"She has unlimited wildcards, and she has millions of dollars": Wild claim as Alexandra Stevenson sees Wozniacki and Venus Williams longevity down to money

Former top-20 tennis player Alexandra Stevenson suggested that the careers of Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams have been extended due to their financial stability.

Tennis players Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki continue to compete on the WTA Tour despite their many years in the sport. In Wozniacki's case, she retired three and a half years ago but returned to competition this season, despite her time away from the game and having had two children in the meantime.

As for Venus Williams, at the age of 42, she has continued to compete in a few tournaments each year, even though she dropped out of the top 100 in 2021 and hasn't achieved significant results lately. The 7-time Grand Slam champion has also mentioned that she plans to continue playing for a few more years before retiring.

Former tennis star Alexandra Stevenson, who is American, recently participated in an interview on the Match Point Canada podcast hosted by Ben Lewis and Mike McIntyre. During the interview, Stevenson was asked about her retirement in 2018 and her inability to extend her career further.

Former world No. 17 Stevenson responded that she lacked the financial resources to sustain her career and afford a team to support her in competing at the highest level:

"I knew I had to build a team but I did not have the finances, and that's something people don't realize, you need the finances," Alexandra Stevenson said.

Stevenson, who is currently 42 years old, mentioned both former world No. 1 players, Wozniacki and Williams, as examples of athletes who have been able to extend their careers due to their financial stability.

"So, Caroline Wozniacki coming back, that's a total different situation. She was (ranked) 1 in the world, she has unlimited wildcards, and she has millions of dollars. So she has the finances to do that, Venus (Williams) has the finances to do that," Stevenson added.