Venus Williams braces for Asia return for first time in seven years after securing Guangzhou Open wildcards

Venus Williams' 2026 campaign is not over yet. The seven-time Grand Slam champion has got a wildcard for the Guangzhou Open in both the singles and doubles. The tournament will take place from October 24-November 1.

Wiliams has not enjoyed a brilliant campaign, being offered numerous opportunities in some of the biggest tournaments in the world but being unable to convert those chances into wins.

It will be the first time the 46-year-old has competed on the WTA Tour in Asia since the 7th October 2019 in Tianjin, seeing her lose in the opening round against Rebecca Peterson. Her three most recent WTA titles all came in Asia between 2015 and 2016, winning the Wuhan Open and WTA Elite Trophy before a few months later triumphing in the Taiwan Open.

Her last WTA final came at the 2017 WTA Finals in Singapore, losing in straight sets against Caroline Wozniacki. From 2020, she opted to slow down her season following the North American hardcourt swing, not competing on the Asian swing.

Seven years later, she is set to return to China and will feature in both the singles and doubles events after getting wildcard entries into both. She will partner up with Janice Tjen for the first time. The Indonesian No.1 is currently ranked 49th in the world and the reigning champion in the doubles.

She partnered with Katarzyna Piter as they stormed to glory. Williams will be hopeful that she can match that level and produce something special in Guangzhou.

While getting a lot of fans to watch her wherever she goes, the results have not matched her adoring support amid a prestigious legacy built up in the sport.

She began her year Down Under, losing in the opening round of the Auckland Open, Hobart International and the Australian Open. The Grand Slam in Melbourne was the first time she featured since 2021, but she blew a 4-0 lead in the third set against Olga Danilovic.

She continued to wait for a win when traversing back to North America. Singles and doubles defeats mounted as fans started to question whether she was worthy of getting this treatment. Finally, she managed to taste success in 2026. Alongside Katie Boulter in the Madrid Open, they won their opening match before exiting a round later.

The American did not feature for the rest of the clay swing, picking up another doubles win alongside Alexandra Eala at the Bad Homburg Open while another singles loss was a bitter blow.

She was in line to partner her sister, Serena Williams, in the doubles at Wimbledon. It would be the first time the sisters competed alongside each other in almost four years when Serena originally retired from tennis at the 2022 US Open. Nevertheless, the 23-time Grand Slam champion picked up an injury and they had to wait until Cincinnati to feature together.

Williams' third and most recent win of 2026 also came in the doubles category, standing alongside Diana Shnaider in the DC Open. She played in four singles contests in the North American hardcourt swing, including the US Open against Sofia Kenin, but failed to grab a single set from any of them. She and her sister crashed out in the first round of the Cincinnati Open and US Open, that being her most recent appearance on court.

The critics have been loud based on her form, but she still brings in the fans and attention around the tournament, and that will most certainly be the case in Guangzhou.